Wrexham targeting shock place in European football as they enter ‘transformational’ talks to switch competitions
LEAGUE ONE side Wrexham could soon be on the fast-track to European football.
The ambitious Welsh club have joined Cardiff, Swansea, and Newport County in discussions to rejoin the Welsh League Cup.
The four clubs have recently been engaged in talks with the Football Association of Wales, according to the BBC.
They have presented plans – known as Prosiect Cymru or Project Wales – to Uefa, the Football Association, the Premier League and clubs in the Welsh Premier.
It would see the four clubs, who all play in England’s domestic leagues, partake in the annual Welsh Cup.
Wrexham have won the competition a record 23 times but haven’t participated since 2011.
Winning the tournament gives one team a chance to play in the Europa Conference League.
The Prosiect Cymru report states: “Welsh football is in a unique position within European football in that its largest clubs play in the domestic league of another country (England).
“This has historically limited the ability of Welsh domestic clubs to be competitive in Uefa club competitions.
“An innovative solution to address this position has transformational potential for the whole Welsh football ecosystem from grassroots to the professional men’s and women’s game.”
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Currently, only domestic leagues in San Marino, Gibraltar, Andorra, Belarus and North Macedonia are ranked lower by Uefa than Wales.
The project hopes to boost Wales’ coefficient ranking and achieve greater prize money, with that revenue to be distributed amongst the Welsh pyramid.
Should the plans be put into action, the four clubs would all still play in England and contest English cup competitions.
But they would be unable to qualify for Europe through either the Premier League, FA Cup or EFL Cup routes.
Welsh-based clubs playing in the EFL were originally allowed into the Welsh Cup, up until 1995.
Between 1996 and 2011, teams playing their domestic football in England were banned from the tournament.
How Ryan Reynolds has been watching Wrexham games in style
CO-OWNER Ryan Reynolds hasn't been able to make it to Wrexham in recent weeks due to filming commitments.
But that hasn’t stopped him from watching his team in style.
Streaming the match on a laptop or even a TV was not grand enough for the Deadpool star as he worked on the set of his latest movie.
With a giant green screen behind him, he could not resist broadcasting Wrexham’s recent game on to the huge projector.
Reynolds and his crew watched on as the Welsh side notched their 23rd win of the season against Crawley Town.
He looked enamoured as the game played on behind him while surrounding by various pieces of Hollywood machinery.
And Reynolds captioned the moment: “Watching the Wrexham game at work: new level unlocked.”
It’s not clear what project Reynolds was working on at the time, with the actor currently developing several new movies including sequels to smash hits Free Guy and Red Notice.
Three teams – including Wrexham – returned for a season in 2011 before being excluded again.
Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham and Newport have all previously played in European competitions after qualifying through the Welsh Cup.
Wrexham’s ambitious owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have helped catapult the club from non-league to League One.
They have made a superb start to the new season and look likely to challenge for promotion to the Championship.