BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Birmingham, the English soccer club which counts NFL great Tom Brady as a minority shareholder, secured promotion back to the second-tier Championship on Tuesday.
A 2-1 win at Peterborough guaranteed Birmingham a finish in one of the two automatic promotion spots in the third division, which is called League One.
Birmingham is likely to go up as champion as it leads second-place Wrexham, owned by Hollywood celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, by 14 points.
Wycombe is three points behind Wrexham in third place after beating Huddersfield 1-0 on Tuesday.
“Straight back up to the EFL championship, and not done yet,” Brady wrote on his Instagram stories. “NFL fans are getting a crash course in the English football pyramid!!!”
Brady got a stake in Birmingham in August 2023 in his first foray into the world of soccer and, as chairman of the club's new advisory board, said he wanted to bring a winning mentality to a club from central England that last played in the Premier League in 2011. That's the same year it won the English League Cup, one of two major trophies the club has captured in its 148-year history.
However, Birmingham was relegated from the Championship at the end of the 2023-24 season, during which Wayne Rooney had an uncomfortable three-month spell as manager before getting fired.
Birmingham has spent big in a bid to make an instant return to the second tier. Its top scorer is Jay Stansfield, who reportedly cost around 15 million pounds ($19 million) — making him the most expensive signing by a third-tier team.
Stansfield was one of 17 players bought in the the transfer window last summer and the rebuild has worked, with Birmingham losing just three of its 40 games so far and gaining promotion with six matches still to play.
Birmingham could also finish the season with a cup, having reached the final of the Football League Trophy — a competition for teams outside the top two tiers. The opposition in Sunday's final at Wembley Stadium will again be Peterborough.
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The Associated Press