Four-time tennis Grand Slam winner joins new ownership group at Birmingham City

Former tennis star Kim Clijsters has joined the new ownership group at Birmingham City’s women’s team alongside former player Karen Carney.

The four-time Grand Slam winner, who has business links to the club’s owners Knighthead Capital Management, is one of a host of minority investors brought in.

Getty

Following the trend

It comes after the Midlands club followed in the footsteps of neighbours Aston Villa by selling their women’s team.

The Blues announced on Tuesday that Birmingham City Women had been bought by Shelby Companies Limited – the holding company through which Knighthead Capital Management control the club.

According to a statement on the club’s website, 97 per cent of Birmingham City Women FC has been purchased by the holding company.

The remaining three per cent has been acquired by ‘several prominent female business leaders and global professional icons’ of which just Clijsters and Carney were mentioned.

That sees the women’s team become a freestanding entity from the men’s and academy teams.

However, Knighthead have reassured fans that the club’s leadership will continue to manage day-to-day operations.

Chief executive Jeremy Dale said: “Birmingham City has a strong heritage in the women’s game, competing at the highest levels and winning the FA Cup in 2012.

“It has developed outstanding talents like Karen Carney, Kerys Harrop and Jess Carter, who have represented the women’s game with distinction.

“To now have Karen, along with Kim Clijsters and several other prominent women business leaders as investors is a pivotal moment for the club.”

Meanwhile, the Birmingham City Women’s Football Club board added: “The ambition is to go beyond anything that Birmingham City Women has achieved before – domestically and internationally.

Getty

Getty Images - Getty

“And in the process, inspire a new generation of young girls, who will get the opportunity to perform in the planned women’s stadium within the Birmingham Sports Quarter.

“This transaction will be a catalyst to make it happen.”

Birmingham are one of a cluster of clubs to have sanctioned the sale of their women’s teams in recent years.

The move comes as clubs look to improve their finances in order to meet the demands of Profit and Sustainability regulations (PSR).

Chelsea sold their women’s team to owners BlueCo in 2024 in a reported £200million deal.

Aston Villa followed suit when they sold their women’s team to parent company V Sports for £55m last summer.

Getty