Jude Bellingham says he “didn’t think twice” after getting the opportunity to become an investor in the Hundred team Birmingham Phoenix by buying a 1 per cent share of the franchise.
The Real Madrid and England footballer, 22, has bought a small shareholding from Warwickshire and their co-owners Knighthead Capital, also the owners of Birmingham City. Based on the £82million valuation of the franchise after Knighthead paid £40million for a 49 per cent stake last year, Bellingham’s 1 per cent share is valued at about £800,000.
Bellingham has bought 0.5 per cent of Warwickshire’s 51 per cent stake in the team and 0.5 per cent of Knighthead’s 49 per cent stake.
He said: “I love Birmingham. I’m very grateful for what the whole city of Birmingham has done for me. I love cricket as well so when I got the opportunity to get involved I didn’t really think twice about it, so I’m so happy to be on board.
Although Bellingham now lives and plays in Madrid, he has retained strong ties with BirminghamMarcel Engelbrecht/Getty images
“I’m so grateful to Birmingham, the Stourbridge area and the West Midlands as a whole. I got the best upbringing into football, into life through Birmingham City. I feel like I owe the city something. Right now it’s difficult with how busy I am with football, but if there’s a way in which I can help then I want to and this feels like a good way.
“I think it’s so important to get our kids in the city out there playing sports. I think it’s crucial and the opportunity of me being a part of Birmingham Phoenix is to try and help people realise there’s different avenues. Some people will enjoy football, some people enjoy cricket.
“I want to let kids know, let adults know that there’s opportunities to go and enjoy sports. I was fortunate growing up, I had the option of playing cricket and playing football, but some kids don’t have that opportunity. It’s important that if I can get involved in something like this to shine a light on an opportunity for kids, then even better.
“I think the things that you learn from playing cricket, playing football, playing team sports are with you for life. To be able to interact with people, understand people from different backgrounds and also realise you can have a good time with anyone, I think that’s the beauty of sport. It brings people together, especially now more than ever.”
England pair Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith walk out to bat for Birmingham Phoenix at EdgbastonNathan Stirk/Getty images
Bellingham was born in Stourbridge and educated less than a mile from Edgbaston at Priory School. He joined Birmingham City at the age of eight and made 44 appearances for their first team before leaving for Borussia Dortmund in 2020.
He is known to be a cricket lover, having played for Hagley CC as a boy, and although he now lives in Madrid, he retains strong ties with Birmingham. Asked last year which sportsperson he would like to swap places with for a day, Bellingham said: “Ben Stokes, definitely.”
During the sale of the eight Hundred teams last year, which raised £500million for English cricket, Warwickshire, who host the Phoenix, informed the ECB that they intended to bring in another high-profile investor. Under normal circumstances, the new owners of the eight teams would be prevented from selling on any shares for five years.
If Bellingham — the first individual to invest in the Hundred — has indeed paid £800,000 for his stake, £80,000 of that would be redistributed to the grassroots game through the ECB, with most of the money going to Warwickshire and Knighthead Capital.