Wrexham AFC and M&S Food have joined forces to help benefit the community as part of a multi-year deal.

A link to Wrexham was revealed in the latest M&S Food Christmas advert, which features the club's very own chairmen Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney playing mittens, joining comedy legend Dawn French.

It is a six-part blockbuster advertisement series that reached more than 40 percent of the UK population on launch day alone.

The announcement of the partnership comes just weeks ahead of the opening of the new M&S Food store at Plas Coch in Wrexham, with an event held for staff at Wrexham AFC including a screening of the advert.

Ryan Reynolds, Wrexham AFC co-chairman, said:  "Our partnership with M&S Food is important to Rob and I, due to its established history with Wrexham and its commitment to supporting the local community. The connection we have to the club and its supporters is something we’re deeply proud of. It’s essential we partner with a brand who understands the broader goals for the community as a whole and is committed to making positive changes.”

Sharry Cramond, M&S Food Director of Marketing & Hospitality said to the Leader: “Wrexham is incredibly important to M&S, we’ve been here almost 90 years.”

She added: “What we most love about Wrexham and the club and everything that’s going on here is the partnership between the club and the community. It's not just about scoring goals and winning leagues, and of course that’s important but it’s also about make a difference to the community.

“We thought there’s a real opportunity for us to come together and make a difference.”

The partnership will also see a brand wall at the new store on Plas Coch, which opens on December 1, 2023, dedicated to Wrexham AFC and players will get the chance for a sneak peak.

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For the club, the appeal to join forces with M&S Food came with them wanting to partner with the club to benefit the community.

Advisor to the Board, Shaun Harvey said: “They genuinely saw the opportunity, with the new store opening, (the) profile of the football club, to actually make a real positive difference in the local community so that's what attracted us to this.

“As everybody's heard Rob and Ryan speak before on the club generally, our success was actually measured not financially but actually by how much community benefit we could deliver, and going into partnership with M&S gives us the opportunity to enhance all that work.”

The partnership will see Wrexham AFC and M&S working to benefit the community together, and could see the partnership not just expand on existing schemes, but creating new ones.

He added: “I actually see this as making a massive difference to everybody.”