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Real Madrid and England footballer Jude Bellingham has made his foray into cricket, acquiring a minority stake in The Hundred franchise of Birmingham Phoenix as co-owners Warwickshire County Cricket Club announced on Wednesday. It is worth noting that four IPL franchises in SunRisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians have already bought some stake in The Hundred teams.
How much stake will Jude Bellingham take of Birmingham Phoenix?
The Real Madrid midfielder will take a 1.2% holding and will focus mainly on community engagement and social projects. Warwickshire will remain the majority stakeholder with 50.4% shares, and Knighthead Capital Management will hold 48.4%.
“I feel like I owe the city something. 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,” the 22-year-old said in a statement.
The sixth season of the tournament, which uses a 100-ball format, runs from July 21 to August 16.
“I got the best upbringing into football, into life there” – Jude Bellingham
In a Q & A session with Sky Sports, Bellingham, who plays as a mid-fielder, further explained that he played majority of his football in West Midlands and that Birmingham City are the best team he has known. The youngster stated:
“When I got the opportunity to get involved, I didn’t really think twice about it and I’m so happy to be on board. I love Birmingham. I’m very grateful for what they’ve done for me. The whole city of Birmingham really, well at least one half! It’s the West Midlands as a whole, I suppose. That’s where I played a lot of my football and cricket, but I’d say particularly Birmingham just because of the club that I played for. For me, Birmingham City are the best team I could have ever come through at and the best team I could have supported. I got the best upbringing into football, into life there.”
The Birmingham Phoenix (Men) finished fifth in the 2025 edition while the women’s counterpart ended at seventh.
