"I'm all for it" - Birmingham City backed to play Wrexham in US after surprise reveal | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit discussed plans to play a league game against Wrexham in the United States

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

It has been revealed that Birmingham City asked if they could play their home League One fixture against Wrexham in the United States, but the EFL swiftly declined their proposal.

It was reported by the Daily Mail that Birmingham, who are owned by Knighthead Capital, wanted to move their home fixture against the Welsh side across the Atlantic, with the Red Dragons being popular in the US thanks to their owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, and the subsequent 'Welcome to Wrexham' documentary on Disney.

Birmingham were taken over by a US-based group led by Tom Wagner last July, and NFL legend Tom Brady joined the club as a minority investor a month later, having already been involved in Knighthead business previously.

Had Birmingham been given permission to play a home game in the US, it would have no doubt been a controversial move, with attempts to play a Premier League 39th game in the past being hugely unpopular with English-based supporters.

Birmingham City backed despite EFL turning down Wrexham fixture request

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit, Mike Gibbs, can see the attraction of moving a game against Wrexham to the United States, with potentially big money to be made, but is concerned at how doing so could impact the team during a League One season where games come thick and fast.

Speaking to Football League World, Mike said: "I don’t have a massive issue with playing games out of the country, it’s something that’s been talked about quite a lot over the last five to ten years with the Premier League 39th game a couple of years ago.

“I’m all for it because commercially it grows the brand and brings in additional funding, so from that side of it, I’m all for it and have no issue at all.

“I think the downside for me is that if you’re doing it for a league fixture in the middle of the season, you’ve got to travel there, travel back, and you’ve got jet lag and there’s a very quick turnaround in terms of games in League One, so my biggest issue would the knock-on impact it would have on other fixtures in and around that time, and the whole season. “You could quite easily lose a week or two for one game, and you’ve got to find alternative dates for those fixtures to be played, and the physical and mental impact on those players, you can’t underestimate it.

"I’ve traveled to the States a fair bit with work, and it has a real knock-on impact for some time.”

The EFL have made the right decision in not allowing Birmingham v Wrexham to be played abroad

It's clear that moving a game against Wrexham to the US would have huge commercial benefits for the club, but it would be deeply unpopular with supporters of both sides.

Birmingham City supporters who have paid hard-earned money for a season ticket would not be happy if they were told that one of these games was now to be played in the US, and it could quite easily see supporters turn on the Blues' ownership group.

It's one thing playing pre-season friendlies in other countries to try and capitalise on foreign support, but moving a league game isn't on, and the EFL have made the right decision.

Had Birmingham been allowed to move this one fixture to the US, it sets a dangerous precedent. It may be one game this time, but what's stopping the club from doing it more often if it's a success? It could leave supporters feeling disenfranchised, and you run the risk of being more like a franchise than a football club.

Birmingham's owners are ambitious, and they clearly saw this as an opportunity to make big money, which had the club's best interest at heart, but it's important that they realise that moving games to another country isn't the done thing.