WREXHAM, Wales (AP) — Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are taking Wrexham back to the United States this summer.
Details were announced in an online video on Thursday, confirming two games in California and another in Vancouver, Canada, as part of the Welsh club's preparations for the English third tier next season.
Wrexham shot to global fame after being bought by Hollywood actors Reynolds and McElhenney in 2021. Under their stewardship, Wrexham has earned promotion in two successive seasons.
Wrexham will play Bournemouth in Santa Barbara on July 20, Chelsea in Santa Clara on July 24, and the Vancouver White Caps on July 27.
Last year's U.S. tour included games against Chelsea and Manchester United.
“It will be a great chance to meet new supporters, while also building for the 2024-25 League One season,” manager Phil Parkinson said.
Wrexham is the subject of the globally streamed documentary series “Welcome to Wrexham.”
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Wrexham's James McClean, left, and Ben Tozer celebrate promotion to League One after the final whistle of the Sky Bet League Two match at the SToK Cae Ras, Wrexham, Saturday April 13, 2024. (Jacob King/PA via AP)
Wrexham players on the pitch celebrate promotion to League One after the final whistle of the Sky Bet League Two match at the SToK Cae Ras, Wrexham, Saturday April 13, 2024. (Jacob King/PA via AP)
Wrexham fans invade the pitch celebrating promotion to League One after the final whistle of a League Two soccer match, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Wrexham, Wales. The Welsh team co-owned by actor Ryan Reynolds clinched promotion to the third tier of English soccer thanks to a 6-0 home win over Forest Green on Saturday. (Jacob King/PA via AP)
Wrexham's Paul Mullin and Elliot Lee on the pitch celebrating promotion to League One after the final whistle of the Sky Bet League Two match at the SToK Cae Ras, Wrexham, Saturday April 13, 2024. (Jacob King/PA via AP)
PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panamanians began voting Sunday in an election that has been consumed by unfolding drama surrounding the country’s former president, even though he is not on the ballot.
Before the sweltering sun set in, voters in the normally sleepy Central American nation lined up outside of polling stations, set to weigh promises of economic prosperity and migratory crackdowns with a corruption scandal.
“Panama’s election will be one of the most complex in its modern history. The vote is marked by increased political fragmentation and social discontent under outgoing President Laurentino Cortizo,” said Arantza Alonso, senior analyst for the Americas at the risk consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft before the polling.
The presidential race remained in uncertain waters until Friday morning, when Panama's Supreme Court ruled that leading presidential contender José Raúl Mulino was permitted to run. It said he was eligible despite allegations that his candidacy wasn’t legitimate because he wasn’t elected in a primary.
Mulino joined the race late, replacing former President Ricardo Martinelli as the candidate for the Achieving Goals party. The fiery Martinelli was barred from running in March after he was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering.
Martinelli has dominated much of the race, campaigning for his former running mate from inside the walls of the Nicaraguan Embassy, where he took refuge in February after receiving political asylum.
While lacking Martinelli's spunk, Mulino has coasted on his connection to the ex-president. He is rarely seen without his blue “Martinelli Mulino 2024” cap and promised to help Martinelli if elected.
Juan José Tinoco, a 63-year-old bus driver, was among those in line outside a polling station in a seaside area of Panama City. He said he planned to vote for Mulino, because it was the closest thing he could get to Martinelli, adding that he earned a decent amount of money under the former president's leadership.
“We have problems with health services, education, we have garbage in the streets ... and corruption that never goes away," Tinoco said. "We have money here, this is a country that has lots of wealth, but we need a leader who dedicates himself to the needs of Panama.”
Mulino promised to usher in a humming economy seen under Martinelli, and stop migration through the Darien Gap, the perilous jungle region overlapping Colombia and Panama that was traversed by a half million migrants last year.
His message resonated with many voters tired of the political establishment in Panama, which was roiled for weeks last year by mass anti-government protests.
The protests targeted a government contract with a copper mine, which critics said endangered the environment and water at a time when drought has gotten so bad that it has effectively handicapped trade transit through the Panama Canal.
Trailing Mulino are former President Martín Torrijos and two candidates from previous elections, Ricardo Lombana and Rómulo Roux.
A view of the Casco Viejo neighborhood backdropped by the skyline of Panama City before polling stations open during a general election in Panama City, early Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
People line up to vote outside a polling station during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
An electoral worker sticks a ballot on a polling station's wall to use as sample during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A voter holds his ballots after choosing his preferences during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
FILE - Migrants heading north line up to take a boat in Bajo Chiquito in the Darien province of Panama, Oct. 5, 2023, after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia. Migration has increased through the Darien jungle, on the border with Colombia, where more than half a million people crossed last year. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco, File)
FILE - Banana vendors wait for customers at the Merca Panama wholesale market in Panama City, April 30, 2024. Panama grew 7.3% last year — the largest expansion in Latin America — but the Gross Domestic Product is expected to barely grow 2.5% in 2024, according to the International Monetary Fund. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Martin Torrijos, a former president and the presidential candidate for the Popular Party, flashes vee finger signs during a campaign rally in Panama City, April 27, 2024. Torrijos, 60 years old and son of the general and leader Omar Torrijos, presents himself as the candidate of experience. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Another Way presidential candidate Ricardo Lombana speaks to supporters during a campaign rally, in Panama City, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Lombana, a 50-year-old lawyer, emerged with strength in the 2019 elections and finished in third place as an independent. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Romulo Roux, presidential candidate for Democratic Change, addresses supporters during a closing campaign rally in Panama City, April 28, 2024. Roux, a 59-year-old former chancellor in the Martinelli government, promises to change the Constitution to dismantle the structures that facilitate corruption. (AP Photo/Agustin Herrera, File)
FILE - Supporters of Achieving Goals presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino attend a campaign rally in Panama City, April 28, 2024. Mulino has promised to usher in a humming economy and stop migration through the Darien Gap, traversed by half a million migrants last year. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino holds his granddaughter Sofia accompanied by his daughter Monique, Sofia's mother, during a campaign event, in Panama City, April 26, 2024. Mulino replaced former president Ricardo Martinelli as the candidate for the Achieving Goals party. Martinelli was barred from running in March, because the ex-president was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Former President Ricardo Martinelli sends a video message from inside the Nicaraguan embassy to supporters, during a campaign rally for presidential frontrunner Jose Raul Mulino, in Panama City, April 28, 2024. Martinelli has been campaigning for his former running mate from inside the walls of Nicaragua’s embassy, where he took refuge in February after receiving political asylum. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
This combo of images shows Panama's 2024 presidential frontrunners from a field of 7, from left; Jose Raul Mulino of the Achieving Goals Party, on May 1; Ricardo Lombana of the Another Way Party, on April 30; Romulo Roux of the Democratic Change Party, on April 28; and former President Martin Torrijos of the Popular Party, on April 27, all in Panama City. Panamanians will elect their new president on May 5th. (AP Photos/Files)
A Panamanian flag flies on Ancon hill backdropped by the skyline of Panama City, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Panamanians will elect a new president on May 5th. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
