It has been announced that Shelby Companies Limited, an affiliate of Knight-Hennessy, has completed the purchase of Birmingham City Women's Football Club. They have acquired 97% stakes in the team. An independent investor purchased the remaining 3%.
The independent investor includes several female business leaders and global sporting icons, including Karen Carney, a former player and lifelong fan of the club who amassed 144 caps for England, and former World Tennis Association number one Kim Clijsters, a multiple Grand Slam winner.
Birmingham City Women currently sit in the second automatic promotion place in WSL2, aiming to return to the top flight for the first time since relegation in 2021–22.
Carney took to social media and said, “Birmingham City has and will always be in my heart. From the very beginning, as a kid, this club has meant the world to me, and that is why I am immensely proud to be an investor in Birmingham City Women.”
“I am so proud to have played for and captained the club, and to now be part of this journey is something I could only have dreamed of as a little girl.”
“The ambition is for the women's team to compete at the highest levels, and we will do all we can to help this club achieve that goal.”
“We all want to elevate women's sport in Birmingham, inspiring the next generation and continuing to build on the legacy created at BCWFC. We're excited to see what we can achieve together.”
The former lioness captain led the women's team between 2011 and 2025, with the club's ambition to compete at the highest level and help it achieve its dreams.
The other women's sports star who is part of the minority investors is Kim Clijsters, who has won the US Open as an unseeded player. She has created her own tennis academy to develop young athletes physically, mentally, and personally.
This takeover is expected to elevate the focus on the women's teams and help build. While the club has confirmed that no immediate changes to staging or football operations will occur, the leadership team will continue to manage day-to-day operations.
The Birmingham City Women’s Football Club Board added: “The ambition is to go beyond anything that Birmingham City Women has achieved before, domestically and internationally, and in the process inspire a new generation of young girls who will get the opportunity to perform in the planned women’s stadium within the Birmingham Sports Quarter. This transaction will be a catalyst to make it happen.”
Add comment
Comments