'What a legacy' - Wrexham's Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney part of plan to bring World Cup 2035 to Wales

The United Kingdom is set to host the Women's World Cup for the first time in 2035 after being confirmed as the only valid bid. There will be 16 stadiums chosen to host the tournament, and the Football Association of Wales is hoping to have two venues. The Cardiff City Stadium is being lined up as one, with Wrexham's SToK Cae Ras home the other.

Reynolds and McElhenney have been working to expand capacity at Wrexham's home. They plan to redesign the famous Kop stand in time to host UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Wales in 2026. The ultimate ambition is to build a 55,000 seater stadium and the duo have been told their work at Wrexham has given the club the chance to potentially host World Cup 2035 matches.

FAW chief executive Noel Mooney told the PA news agency: "The Kop development is a significant first step and the vision for the stadium is incredible. What Ryan and Rob are doing is amazing. They are looking to look to invest in the stadium and build up the Cae Ras, which is the oldest international ground in the world, and there is a potential North Star for them. The city and the club have a chance to bring a World Cup to North Wales. What a story that would be. What a legacy for Ryan and Rob to leave Wrexham.”

Mooney also had more praise for the superstar duo and the impact they have had on Wrexham already, adding: "It’s our 150th anniversary next year, we were founded in Wrexham, and the story is very powerful for us. The impact of Ryan and Rob has been manna from heaven for us, the timing of it. We’ve been very fortunate over the last few years to get to a men’s World Cup, first women’s Euro, and have our young teams starting to qualify for major championships. That has coincided with Ryan and Rob coming in. Wrexham has already started collecting a lot of our national team players, and will produce lots of players for us in the future with their investment in youth development and Academy. There is a symbiotic relationship there where we can create a lot of value for each other. People all over the world are talking about Wrexham and that inspires partners like FIFA, commercial bodies and Governments to get involved.”

Wrexham are in the Championship after back-to-back-to-back promotions since McElhenney and Reynolds took over. The team are back in action on Saturday against Sheffield Wednesday.