Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney may own the Wrexham football club, but Blake Lively is also involved.
“Rob and Ryan, of course, they’re supporting us,” Wrexham women’s midfielder Kim Dutton shared during the Tuesday, October 3 episode of Welcome to Wrexham. “And Blake, she obviously, sponsors our team as well.”
The sixth installment of the FX docuseries’ second season showcased the Wrexham women’s team as they — which McElhenney so eloquently put it — are “kicking the living s—t out of everyone.”
At one point in the episode, both Reynolds and McElhenney are spotted cheering for the women’s team, but when one player made a goal, Lively could be seen cheering and hugging her husband, Reynolds, in excitement.
“It’s pretty special that they are supporting us in that way,” Gemma Owen, head of women’s football operations, said. “That makes us as a team and as a section feel very very much part of the club.”
Later, it’s revealed that Lively’s brand, Betty Buzz, was made one of the official Wrexham women’s team sponsors, with the logo featured on the players jerseys.
“We didn’t know that there was a women’s team in Wrexham until we took stewardship of the club and recognized that there was a program that was in place,” McElhenney explained to viewers. “They, just like the men, need to win the league to get promoted up and out and into the professional ranks.”
During the episode, it’s explained that the women’s team does not get paid because of the league that they are in. However, Reynolds and McElhenney are hopeful that the team can get promoted and become a semi-professional team so the players can start getting paid.
“Ryan and I have been talking quite a bit about how we want to prioritize this program. For so many reasons in the past it hasn’t been,” McElhenney told the players after watching them win a football match. “You’re all very important to us and we want to continue to support you. If you keep winning it makes it a lot easier.”It also helps that the women’s team has player Rosie Hughes, whom Reynolds revealed is “the No. 1 goal scorer for Wrexham” overall.
Reynolds and McElhenney made it clear that they are looking to “cultivate and grow” the women’s team, no matter how “daunting” a task.
“It’s gonna be a real privilege and fun, but you know, we’ve got a long road ahead,” Reynolds said.
New episodes of Welcome to Wrexham premiere Tuesdays on FX.
