Birmingham City set for cash windfall due to World Cup | OneFootball

Paik Seung-ho's involvement in football's most prestige tournament will help Blues' coffers

Birmingham City have become a club well-known in several quarters of the globe in recent times due to their American investment, and they are to be represented again on football's greatest stage within a matter of days.

While Chris Davies and his recruitment staff at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park will be arduously preparing for another 46-game Championship season, which gets underway in the middle of August, the majority of the footballing world will, between June 11th and July 11th, be keeping up-to-date with every kick of the FIFA World Cup which takes place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The tournament has received plenty of backlash due to off-pitch logistics and controversy ever since the group stage draw was conducted in Washington D.C. on December 5th, especially due to the cost of tickets for one-off matches at several venues, even though it is the first of its kind, in footballing terms, to involve 48 teams.

An expansion of the World Cup does, though, mean that Blues are one of several EFL clubs who will have a player representing them, as well as the obvious honour of playing for their nation once more.

Another controversial aspect of modern-day football is the finances involved, especially higher up the pyramid, with Blues certainly feeling the heat on this more than most Championship clubs due to Tom Wagner's aim of wanting the West Midlands outfit back in the Premier League sooner rather than later, especially with the 62,000-seater Powerhouse development on the horizon.

And, they are in line to be helped when it comes to their upcoming transfer policy due to the call-up of combative midfielder, Paik Seung-ho, to the South Korean squad.

Birmingham City to receive cash windfall from Paik Seung-ho's involvement for South Korea in FIFA World Cup

Two-and-a-half years ago, Paik signed for Birmingham under Tony Mowbray from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, just months before their calamitous fall into League One at the end of 2023/24.

Since then, though, the man who was previously a part of FC Barcelona's infamous 'La Masia' academy has become a firm favourite with supporters, as well as Davies, for his all-action nature alongside the likes of Tomoki Iwata, Marc Leonard and Tommy Doyle, among others at various parts of his spell at St. Andrew's.

The 29-year-old, this season, played in 43 of Blues' 46 Championship games, scoring on four occasions against Oxford United, Portsmouth, Millwall and Watford, as well as providing a further assist, and has continuously been called up for his national side as a result.

The 26-time international, who registered his first cap for South Korea in June 2019, has made Hong Myung-bo's World Cup squad for a second successive tournament, and Birmingham will bank a small figure of the approximately £263m-worth Club Benefits Programme, which, during the 2022 edition in Qatar, saw clubs net around £8,100 for each day one of their players was officially involved in the tournament.

In Qatar, Paik netted one of his three international goals in a 4-1 defeat to Brazil, and his nation are involved in Group A against Czechia, Mexico and South Africa, as they hope to make the knockout stages.

Birmingham City supporters will feel lots of pride in upcoming World Cup

As well as the involvement of Paik, there are plenty of ex-Blues players who are involved in the upcoming tournament, with the standout name on that front being Real Madrid and England ace, Jude Bellingham, as well as Dan Burn, who was on loan in B9 during the opening months of the 2013/14 season.

Furthermore, Scotland striker, Che Adams, has continued to be linked with a return to his former club in the past two transfer windows, and his record of six goals and three assists in 33 Serie A outings saw him, again, named in a major tournament squad for the Tartan Army under Steve Clarke's management.

However, the longer that South Korea are involved in the World Cup, the better for Blues, who will hope to successfully flex their financial muscle in next season's Championship after a 10th-placed finish this time around.