Jude Bellingham Buys 1% Stake in Birmingham Phoenix

Jude Bellingham, the England and Real Madrid midfielder, has acquired a one percent stake in the Birmingham Phoenix cricket franchise in England's Hundred competition, with the investment set for official confirmation on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old, who grew up in the Birmingham area, purchased the minority interest for an estimated 800,000 to one million pounds, split evenly between the franchise's two primary owners: Warwickshire County Cricket Club and the American investment group Knighthead Capital Management. This transaction adjusts Warwickshire's holding to 50.4 percent and Knighthead's to 48.4 percent, according to details from the club's recent annual report. The Phoenix, based at Edgbaston in Birmingham, play home matches there and have yet to win a men's or women's Hundred title, though both teams feature prominent players this season, including England batter Jacob Bethell as men's captain and Australian allrounder Ellyse Perry leading the women.

Bellingham's involvement stems from his lifelong passion for cricket. A former junior player at Hagley Cricket Club in Worcestershire, he has publicly expressed admiration for the sport, once stating he would swap roles for...