Ryan Reynolds is Coming Home for the Wrexham vs. Whitecaps Match

Welsh football fans get excited! It’s an all-Ryan Reynolds lineup as the Vancouver-born star brings his Wrexham AFC (aka the “Red Dragons”) club to face off against his hometown Major League Soccer (MLS) counterparts, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC (VWFC), in an intercontinental friendly matchup at BC Place Stadium on July 27.

“Last year Rob got to bring Wrexham to Philly. This year it’s my turn,” said Wrexham AFC co-chairman Ryan Reynolds. “I am so excited my hometown club the Whitecaps will get to square off against the Red Dragons. My official stance on the match will be a very friendly
‘neutral’ even if I will be screaming for a Paul Mullin hat trick.”

Vancity Reynolds

Deadpool, Photo: 20th Century FoxBefore diving into the match details, let’s revisit Reynolds’ amazing story. It’s no secret Reynolds loves to remind fans he’s from Vancouver—just check his social media handles. His incredible career started after attending Kitsilano Secondary and playing small parts in locally filmed productions as a teenager. He then moved to Los Angeles and secured a lead role in the hit ABC sitcom Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place as his big break.

He’s come a long way as a business mogul in addition to his A-list Hollywood star status but has never forgotten where he came from. In fact, many of his films produced through his production company, Maximum Effort, have purposely been shot in his hometown. Most notably, Deadpool and Deadpool 2 were both filmed here, including famously shutting down the Georgia Viaduct for several days to shoot its iconic action scene.

His first appearance as the “Merc with a Mouth” was actually in the prequel X-Men Origins: Wolverine, while his first comic book role was in Blade: Trinity, both shot in Vancouver, as well as his recent Netflix time-travel action comedy The Adam Project.

Welcome to Wrexham

This game holds a special significance for Reynolds as both a Wrexham AFC co-owner and a Kitsilano local who is also a long-time Whitecaps supporter. Wrexham as a football club has shot to fame ever since he and It’s Always Sunny in Philidelphia creator/star Rob McElhenney bought the club in 2020, putting it on the global football stage by documenting their ownership in the Emmy-winning Welcome to Wrexham docuseries with its third season coming in May.

Founded in 1864, Wrexham is the third oldest professional soccer club in the world. Thanks to Reynolds’ co-ownership generating huge international awareness alongside its proud Welsh heritage, Wrexham has recently risen through the divisions after hard times and has just secured back-to-back league promotions, which elevates them to League One (the third tier in the English football system) status for next season. The club has a hugely supportive fanbase around the world that’s excited for their return to North America for a second successive pre-season.

Welcome to BC Place

The summer atmosphere at BC Place will be electric as Reynolds’ hometown team battles the club he co-owns. It will be a double celebration of Vancouver, led by one of its most famous homegrown celebrity personalities. Fans of Welcome to Wrexham will get a chance to see the athletes they’ve been following on television play live in person.

This match is the final of Wrexham AFC’s three North American matches this summer as part of their 2024 Wrex Coast Tour. It follows their matches versus AFC Bournemouth on July 20 at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara and against Chelsea FC on July 24 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

Wrexham vs. Whitecaps match details:

• July 27 @ BC Place

Join Ryan Reynolds live to watch this international football matchup between both his teams and show your double support for Vancouver!

Whitecaps FC season members will receive an email with details on their priority pre-sale window. Tickets for the general public will be available today (April 25th) at 12pm PT on Ticketmaster here.