Why Birmingham City investor Tom Brady will be involved in FIFA World Cup draw | OneFootball

Brady has been a key influence at St. Andrew's under the Knighthead Capital regime

Birmingham City are set to be somewhat represented on the world stage once more on Friday evening, with minority stakeholder and NFL icon, Tom Brady, one of several high-profile guests who will help conduct the highly anticipated FIFA World Cup 2026 draw.

Globalisation is something which thousands of Blues supporters have become accustomed to ever since Knighthead Capital Management took initial control of the club from Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited (BSHL) in July 2023, before taking full control of the ambitious Championship club early in November 2025.

Keeping in trend with the chequered history of the West Midlands club, the two-and-a-half years which the likes of Brady and Birmingham's majority owner, Tom Wagner, have spent in the boardroom at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park have been eventful, to say the least, although the club and its loyal fanbase are now starting to dream big as a result of well-documented future plans which have been put in place by those at the top.

At present, Brady and Co. are continuing to bankroll what they hope is a quick push towards the Premier League for the first time since May 2011, having enjoyed two high-profile summer recruitment drives under the management of Chris Davies, who was appointed in June 2024.

Blues have since broken several club and divisional records, which include an eight-figure sum to acquire the highly-rated Jay Stansfield on a permanent basis from Fulham, before racking up 111 points in League One last season.

Yet, whilst the Second City club gear up their preparations for an upcoming trip to Southampton on Saturday, with a win potentially enough to see them break into the Championship play-off places, Brady will be playing his part in determining the schedule for next summer's World Cup in his native United States, as well as Canada and Mexico.

With the upcoming tournament already drawing plenty of mixed opinions as a result of developments which transcend the sport, attention will now turn to the Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C, when its latest draw will take place at 12PM local time and approximately 5PM in the United Kingdom.

At present, there are two 'home nations', who will, for certain, be represented within the 48-team draw, with England qualifying with a perfect record under Thomas Tuchel, whilst Scotland sealed their passage to a first World Cup since 1998 with a dramatic 4-2 victory over Denmark at Hampden Park last month - a victory sealed by a halfway-line goal scored by Kenny McLean of Norwich City.

With football still having a long way to go in order to become the national sport in the United States, several high-profile names from the world of the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL will be on hand to assist FIFA representatives within the draw, and that includes Brady, although he has certainly immersed himself in the round-ball game ever since taking up a 3.3 percent stake in Blues just weeks after his compatriot, Wagner, acquired initial control of the club.

Featuring alongside the man who many perceive as the 'GOAT' due to his seven Super Bowl titles will be Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, the NHL's all-time leading points scorer, Wayne Gretzky and former NBA sensation, Shaquille O'Neil.

They will also be joined by former Manchester United and Queens Park Rangers defender, Rio Ferdinand.

Speaking about his upcoming role in the proceedings, Brady said: "Being part of the Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup is an incredible honor – it's the kind of global stage every athlete dreams of.

Birmingham City, Amazon Prime series showcased Tom Brady's footballing passion

Brady made it clear at the time of his investment in Blues that he had plenty of learning to do. However, anyone who saw the recently screened Amazon Prime docuseries titled 'Built in Birmingham: Brady and The Blues' will have noticed his clear passion for the sport that has come to the fore in such a short timeframe.

Although international football isn't entirely to everyone's liking, a handful of current and former Birmingham players will somewhat see their short-term fates in the tournament decided over time, including Scotland international, Lyndon Dykes and South Korean midfielder, Paik Seung-ho.