SAN DIEGO — Millions have soaked up the documentary series “Welcome to Wrexham” and the sausage-making details behind the football club led by actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

Wrexham now plays in English Football League One, the third tier of the revered soccer ball-chasing sport in England.

There’s also a growing Padres and San Diego flavor in the 24-team league with Lincoln City FC. The lead investor in the 140-year-old club is Padres minority owner Harvey Jabara.

Former Padres Chairman Ron Fowler and his son Andrew jumped in this spring.

San Diegan and U.S. soccer legend Landon Donovan is a strategic advisor for the group.

Nearly 5,400 miles away, in the agricultural heart of the East Midlands, a two-hour train ride north of London, those connections are helping to mold a club that has been the glue for a community.

“The support of this club is so multi-generational,” said Jabara, the managing member of Olive Management, an investment consulting firm based in Scottsdale, Ariz. “Your dad, your grandfather, your great grandfather went to all the matches. We don’t take it lightly, being in a lead role.

“We’re the crazy American who doesn’t know anything about football when it’s not going well. Fortunately, it’s gone well.”

Jabara laughed at the last comment, fully understanding the deep and personal part of the pool into which he, the Fowlers and Donovan have waded.

That’s part of the allure, understanding the importance while working to make sure their fingerprints translate to continued success.

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