Birmingham City was relegated to England’s third tier on Saturday, a division they have not played in since 1995. The English soccer team, which NFL legend Tom Brady is part owner of, was one of three teams relegated from the Championship, England’s second division, on Saturday. Despite defeating Norwich 1-0 in their final game of the season, the Blues needed help from one of three games to stay up. However, Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, and Blackburn winning their games sealed Birmingham City’s fate in England’s third tier for the first time in nearly three decades.
The tumultuous first season for Birmingham’s American ownership came to an end on Saturday as Rotherham and Huddersfield Town were also relegated to League One next season. The team went through three head coaches during the 2023-24 season, including Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney. When they replaced John Eustace with Rooney in October, Birmingham was in sixth place out of 24 teams. Eustace moved on to Blackburn, who narrowly avoided relegation by defeating league champion Leicester City.
Tom Brady joined Birmingham City’s ownership group in August after partnering with the club’s holding company, Knighthead Capital Management. Brady’s involvement with Knighthead Capital led chairman Tom Wagner to seek out the expertise of the seven-time Super Bowl champion as a way to bring a winning mentality to the club. Despite the relegation, Wagner remains confident in the direction of the club with Brady on board, calling it a statement of intent to set the bar at a world-class level.
While Brady was unable to attend the match at St. Andrew’s on Saturday due to his commitments in Miami for the Miami Grand Prix and Los Angeles for a Netflix special where he will be roasted by a celebrity lineup including his former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
