Cymru’ upcoming autumn friendly international against Gibraltar will mark their return to the Racecourse Stadium in Wrexham after a gap of four years. The stadium, the world’s oldest international football stadium still in use, has been undergoing significant renovations following its takeover by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in 2020.
Excitement surrounds the team’s return to Wrexham, even though the new 5,500-seater stand will not be ready in time for the match on 11 October. Football Association of Wales (FAW) chief executive Noel Mooney expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “Members of the Red Wall [Cymru fans] in the area make an incredible commitment when travelling to the Cardiff City Stadium for our home qualifiers, and hopefully we can give a performance to be proud of against Gibraltar.”
The Racecourse Stadium has a rich history, having first hosted a Cymru game back in 1877 and serving as the venue for every home match until 1890. Despite its storied past, the ground has only seen one Wales national team match in the last 15 years. However, with the funding secured from Wrexham County Borough Council in April, the stadium’s ‘Kop’ terrace is currently being replaced with the new stand, expanding League Two Wrexham’s home capacity to around 15,600.
FAW president Steve Williams, who hails from the Wrexham area, expressed immense pride, stating, “Being born and bred in the Wrexham area, I am incredibly proud to see Cymru returning to the oldest international football stadium in the world. With the commitment of the FAW and the exciting redevelopment work taking place, I’m hopeful this opens the door for further matches to take place in Wrexham across all our national teams and age groups, including our Uefa U19 Euro finals bid for 2026 to celebrate our 150th anniversary.”
The friendly against Gibraltar, who are ranked 198th in FIFA’s world list, will take place just four days before a crucial European Championship qualifying match against Croatia. Currently, Wales stands at fourth place in their qualifying group with four points from four games, while Croatia, holding the third spot, has four points from just two games. The group leaders, Turkey, have nine points from four matches.
Before the Wrexham encounter, Cymru will also be playing a friendly against Korea Republic at the Cardiff City Stadium on Monday, 11 September. The team hopes that the renewed stadium and increased capacity will mean more opportunities to host international football matches in north Wales in the future.
