Chelsea and Wrexham to Host Open Training Ahead of FC Series Match

Chelsea and Wrexham will host an open training session at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., on the evening of Tuesday, July 18, Unified Events announced. The event precedes a sold-out FCSeries friendly between the clubs at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Wednesday, July 19.

Wrexham’s training session is tentatively scheduled for 5 p.m. ET, with Chelsea following at approximately 6:30. Tickets to the Tuesday open training include both sessions and start at $15. Event presales will begin Monday, May 22. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Tuesday, May 23, at FCSeries.com. 

WakeMed Soccer Park, the site of the open training, features a 10,000-seat stadium and is the home of the NWSL’s North Carolina Courage and North Carolina FC of the USL. The 150-acre campus — opened in 2002 and renovated in 2012 — includes seven fields and will serve as ChelseaFC's training grounds in North Carolina.

The “Wrexham Red Dragons,” a team composed of club legends and other personalities, will also compete at WakeMed Soccer Park June 1-4 as part of The Soccer Tournament, a 32-team, winner-take-all, 7-on-7 competition with a $1 million top prize. 

The full club, owned by American actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, will then train at Dorrance Field at the University of North Carolina leading up to the FCSeries exhibition.

Earlier this month, Unified Events and Florida Citrus Sports announced that the July 19 match between Chelsea and Wrexham had officially sold out, reaching full capacity at Kenan Stadium within four days of going on sale. 

Click here for a media kit, including game logos and additional FC Series media assets and information.

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About Chelsea
Founded in 1905, Chelsea is London's most central football club, based at the iconic 41,000-capacity Stamford Bridge stadium. Nicknamed 'The Blues', the club won its second UEFA Champions League title in 2021 and has also won the Premier League five times, the FA Cup eight times, the Football League Cup five times, the UEFA Europa League twice, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup twice, the UEFA Super Cup twice, the Football League Championship once, and most recently the FIFA Club World Cup in 2022.

About Wrexham
Founded in 1864, the "Red Dragons" are one of the oldest football teams in the world and currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. In 2020, Rob McElhenney (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) purchased the team. Last week, the club secured promotion back to the English Football League for the first time since 2008. The club and its owners are the subjects of the hit docuseries "Welcome to Wrexham," produced by Boardwalk Pictures. 
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About Unified Events
Unified Events is committed to bringing our partner teams closer to their fans and bringing world-class matchups to our partner venues. Unified Events partners with teams and venues to host games in cities throughout the United States. Over the past decade, its management team has helped promote over 100 international soccer matches across North America and Europe. In the last two years, Unified Events and it's affiliates managed ticketing for over 40 international soccer matches in the U.S., featuring many of the world's biggest professional clubs.

About Florida Cup / FC Series 
The largest annual international soccer event in the Sunshine State, the Florida Cup is a global platform that combines sports, music and entertainment. In 2022, the event expanded to the FCSeries featuring multiple matches across the United States, concluding with a sold-out meeting between Arsenal and Chelsea in Orlando. The event's international TV audience reached over 7 million unique viewers in over 150 countries. Across social networks, content posted by official event pages generated more than 200 million impressions worldwide. For more information on the FCSeries, visit FCSeries.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

About Florida Citrus Sports
Florida Citrus Sports is a not-for-profit event management organization dedicated to positively impacting the Orlando region while enhancing the quality of life in Central Florida through world-class events, including the Citrus Bowl, the Cheez-It Bowl, the Florida Blue Florida Classic, the FCSeries and the Camping World Kickoff. For more information, visit FloridaCitrusSports.com.  

About Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando Resort is an award-winning theme park destination that welcomes all to truly be themselves while enjoying world-class attractions that redefine theme park experiences. Here, a multitude of authentically thrilling, exciting and spontaneous adventures await – each inviting guests to embark on whatever vacation they crave while igniting their full range of emotions like never before – from the awe of walking the streets of Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to the rush of adrenaline that takes over when coming face-to-face with a Velociraptor in Jurassic Park to the wide-eyed joy of seeing an entire slice of cake atop a delectable milkshake at The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and Savory Feast Kitchen.

The 700-acre resort is home to three exhilarating theme parks – Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Volcano Bay – that boast some of the most innovative and immersive experiences ever created, with a fourth next-level theme park, Universal Epic Universe, on the way. Guests can also relish in exciting dining and entertainment at the Universal CityWalk entertainment complex and enjoy incredible accommodations and magnificent theming across eight hotels that offer something for every style and budget – Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Universal's Aventura Hotel and Universal's Endless Summer Resort – Surfside and Dockside Inn and Suites. 

For more information about Universal Orlando Resort, visit UniversalOrlando.com.

Media Contacts:

Sam Gardner (FC Series)
407-513-1617
sgardner@fcsports.com

Click here for a media kit, including official game logos and any future FC Series media assets and announcements. Social and web handles can be found below: