Birmingham City have secured promotion from League One after a 2-1 win at Peterborough United on Tuesday ensured they will return to the Championship at the first time of asking.
Goals from Alfie May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman earned Birmingham the vital three points at the Weston Homes Stadium.
The Midlands club, who count legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady as a minority owner, have cruised to a return to the second tier of English football this season as their closest rivals failed to keep pace.
“Straight back up to the EFL championship, and not done yet,” Brady wrote in a post on Instagram. “NFL fans are getting a crash course in the English football pyramid!!!”
Brady purchased a stake in Birmingham in August 2023 in his first foray into the world of football and, as chairman of the club’s new advisory board, said he wanted to bring a winning mentality to a club that last played in the Premier League in 2011.
However, Birmingham were relegated from the Championship at the end of the 2023-24 season, during which Wayne Rooney had an uncomfortable three-month spell as manager before being sacked.
Birmingham spent big in a bid to make an instant return to the second tier, signing 17 players in the summer transfer window.
They have have been top of the table since January and are 14 points above second-placed Wrexham who are closing on a promotion of their own.
Birmingham have lost just three games in the league this season and are on course to break the record for most games won and most points earned by a club in a single campaign in the third tier.
They need nine more points to better the 103 accrued by Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2013-14. The record for most wins is held by Aston Villa who managed 32 victories in 1971-72 — Birmingham need to win four of their last six games to beat that total.
The Blues are also on course to break the points record for an English professional league season. The current high water mark was set by Steve Coppell’s Reading when earned 106 points on their way lifting the Championship title in 2005-06.
Birmingham could also finish the season with a cup triumph, having reached the final of the Football League Trophy. They will face Peterborough again in Sunday’s final at Wembley Stadium.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report
