Birmingham City owners plotting bold new move | OneFootball

Birmingham City owners Knighthead Capital Management are considering bringing a Rugby Union franchise into their portfolio

Birmingham City owners, Knighthead Capital Management, are keen to add to their sporting portfolio amid their continued ownership of the Championship club.

Blues' play-off hopes took a dent on Wednesday, when they were beaten 3-0 by Millwall, who still have a chance of leapfrogging Middlesbrough into an automatic promotion spot.

Knighthead showed their ambition once again in the winter transfer window, making notable signings such as full-back Kai Wagner and winger Carlos Vicente.

Birmingham can bounce back from their defeat to Millwall when they host an out-of-form Middlesbrough outfit at St Andrew's on Monday.

Birmingham City owners keen on Rugby Union franchise

Knighthead have proven themselves as capable football owners in recent months, as Blues won the League One title with a whopping 111 points to their name last term, and have gone on to establish serious Championship play-off credentials this season.

Meanwhile, The Times have revealed that Birmingham's owners are considering bringing a Rugby Union franchise to the second city.

The consortium led by Tom Wagner acquired a 49 per cent stake in the Hundred cricket franchise Birmingham Phoenix last year, proving that they are no strangers to adding new sports to their portfolio within the West Midlands.

Interestingly, news that Blues' owners could bring a Rugby Union franchise to their city arrives following developments that the Rugby Prem is set to split from the rest of the pyramid, as reported by BBC Sport.

Under the new system, English rugby would no longer have promotion and relegation between the Prem and the Champ, and any club would be able to apply for a place in an expanded top-flight.

The sport's top tier wants to expand from 10 teams to 12 teams by 2030, while Knighthead could look to place their prospective franchise into the new-look division.

Bill Sweeney, chief executive of the Rugby Football Union, has already spoken to Birmingham's owners about holding England matches in the West Midlands if the national stadium, Twickenham, ever became unavailable, as per the aforementioned Times report.

The Guardian revealed back in December that Blues' planned 62,000-seater stadium could be shared with a top-flight rugby team.

Birmingham's current highest-ranked club, Birmingham Moseley, compete in National League One, which is the third tier.

Birmingham City need to get back on form to retain Championship play-off hopes

Knighthead are keen on adding more sports clubs to their portfolio, while Birmingham boss Chris Davies remains focused on steering Blues to the play-offs.

The St Andrew's outfit enjoyed an eight-game unbeaten run in the Championship before their defeat against Millwall, which included victories against Norwich City, Leicester City, and Oxford United.

However, Wednesday's loss against the Lions means that Davies' men have now earned just one victory in their last three second-tier outings, having drawn 0-0 with relegation-threatened local rivals West Bromwich Albion on 10 February.

Blues need to get back to winning ways sooner rather than later to retain their chances of finishing in the top six, but defeating automatic promotion challengers Middlesbrough on Monday will be easier said than done.

Birmingham can take confidence from the fact that Boro are winless in three attempts, though, after enduring draws with both Oxford and Leicester following their defeat against title rivals Coventry City.