Birmingham City is set to be represented on the world stage once more on Friday evening, with minority stakeholder and NFL great Tom Brady among several high-profile guests who will assist in the highly anticipated FIFA World Cup 2026 draw.
Thousands of Blues fans have grown accustomed to globalisation since Knighthead Capital Management took initial control of the club from Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited (BSHL) in July 2023, before acquiring full control of the ambitious Championship club in early November 2025.
Keeping in line with the West Midlands club’s chequered history, the two-and-a-half years that Brady and Birmingham’s majority owner, Tom Wagner, have spent in the boardroom at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park have been eventful, to say the least, but the club and its loyal fanbase are now beginning to dream big as a result of well-documented future plans put in place by those at the top.
Brady and Co. are currently funding what they think would be a rapid return to the Premier League for the first time since May 2011, following two high-profile summer recruitment campaigns under the direction of Chris Davies, who was recruited in June 2024.
Blues have since surpassed multiple club and divisional records, including paying an eight-figure price to sign highly-rated Jay Stansfield on a permanent basis from Fulham, before finishing with 111 points in League One last season.
However, as the Second City club prepares for a trip to Southampton on Saturday, with a win potentially enough to propel them into the Championship play-offs, Brady will be involved in determining the schedule for next summer’s World Cup in his native United States, as well as Canada and Mexico.
Tom Brady, a Birmingham City minority stakeholder, will appear on the star-studded FIFA World Cup draw guest list.
With the approaching tournament already attracting a lot of mixed feelings due to developments that go beyond the sport, attention will now go to the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C., where the current draw will take place at 12PM local time and around 5PM in the United Kingdom.
At the moment, there are two ‘home nations’ that will undoubtedly be represented in the 48-team draw, with England qualifying with a perfect record under Thomas Tuchel, and Scotland securing their passage to a first World Cup since 1998 with a dramatic 4-2 victory over Denmark at Hampden Park last month, sealed by a halfway-line goal scored by Kenny McLean of Norwich City.
With football still a long way from becoming the national sport of the United States, several high-profile names from the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL will be on hand to assist FIFA representatives in the draw, including Brady, who has certainly immersed himself in the round-ball game since taking up a 3.3 percent stake in Blues just weeks after his compatriot, Wagner, took initial control of the club.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, Wayne Gretzky, the NHL’s all-time top points scorer, and former NBA star Shaquille O’Neil will appear with the guy many regard as the ‘GOAT’ because of his seven Super Bowl championships.
They will be joined by Rio Ferdinand, a former Manchester United and Queens Park Rangers defender.
Speaking about his future participation in the proceedings, Brady said: “Being part of the FIFA World Cup Final Draw is an incredible honor – it’s the kind of global stage that every athlete dreams of.”
He said further: “I’m excited to help set the path for a tournament that brings the world together like nothing else”
Birmingham City, Amazon Prime series featured Tom Brady’s football love.
Brady made it obvious when he invested in Blues that he still had a lot to learn. Anyone who saw the recently aired Amazon Prime docuseries ‘Built in Birmingham: Brady and The Blues’ will have observed his obvious passion for the sport, which has come to the forefront in such a short time.
Although international football is not to everyone’s taste, a few current and former Birmingham players, notably Scotland international Lyndon Dykes and South Korean midfielder Paik Seung-ho, will have their short-term fortunes in the competition decided in time.
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