2024–25 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 2024–25 season is Birmingham City Football Club's 122nd season in the English football league system and first season in the third-tier EFL League One since 1994–95. They finished in 22nd place in the 2023–24 EFL Championship, so were relegated after 13 years at that level. As with all third- and fourth-tier League clubs, the first team will compete in the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy.

The season covers the period from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.

Off the field
On 13 July 2023, Shelby Companies Ltd, a subsidiary of asset management company Knighthead Capital Management fronted by Tom Wagner, Knighthead's co-founder and co-CEO, completed the purchase of 45.64% of Birmingham City plc shares and the whole of Birmingham City Stadium Ltd. Although previous owners Birmingham Sports Holdings (BSH) retained 51% of the shares, Wagner confirmed that Shelby were "responsible for the operations of the club moving forward" and that "nothing about the way the transaction is structured will prevent us from obtaining the long-term goals we have for the club." Former Manchester City executive Garry Cook was appointed CEO, and considerable media attention followed the arrival of seven-time Super Bowl-winner Tom Brady as minority owner and chair of the club's advisory board. === Works begun during the 2022–23 season to demolish and rebuild the lower tiers of the Kop and Tilton Road stands, closed since late 2020 because of what was initially described as water damage to structural steelwork and eventually revealed to be asbestos-related, and interrupted when the main contractors filed for administration finally completed in November 2023 under the management of Mace Consult. The rebuild included conversion of the lower Tilton to safe standing. In January 2024, the club's owners, Shelby Companies, renamed the stadium St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park as part of what it described as "the largest commercial agreement in the club's history". According to Tom Wagner, chairman of both club and Shelby's parent company Knighthead, it was "step one in our plan to create a world-renowned 'Sports Quarter' in Birmingham. We invested in Blues because of the opportunity to not only transform a football club but to also be a catalyst for change in the city itself." By the start of the 2024–25 season, the club intended to construct two fan parks outside the ground as well as refurbish hospitality areas within the stadium and make the public address system work.

Benefiting from the upgrade to the club's agreement with kit suppliers Nike during the 2023–24 season to include bespoke rather than off-the-shelf product, the 2024–25 home kit consists of a royal blue shirt with white trim at collar and cuffs, white sides, and – with echoes of the Co-op Milk shirt of the 1980s – a white strip across the front carrying the logo of the club's principal partner, streetwear company Undefeated, white shorts and royal blue socks.

On the field
On-field matters ran less smoothly, resulting in Birmingham City beginning the 2024–25 season in the third tier of English football for the first time since 1994–95.

On 6 June, after "close to 1,000 coaches being evaluated and more than 40 being spoken to directly or through their representatives", Chris Davies, senior assistant coach under Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur, was appointed manager on a four-year contract. It would be his first senior managerial role.

Transfers
Among out-of-contract players, departures included the long-serving Neil Etheridge, Gary Gardner, Scott Hogan, Marc Roberts and Ivan Sunjic, as well as young professionals Marcel Oakley and Tate Campbell. New contracts were offered to Lukas Jutkiewicz and John Ruddy – Jutkiewicz accepted, Ruddy did not  – and the option on Keshi Anderson's contract was taken up. The return of loanee Jay Stansfield, 2023–24 Player of the Year and top scorer, to his parent club left Birmingham particularly short of strikers.

The first contracted player to leave was midfielder Alex Pritchard, who joined Turkish Süper Lig club Sivasspor for an undisclosed fee.

The first new signings were goalkeepers Ryan Allsop from Hull City and Northern Ireland international Bailey Peacock-Farrell from Burnley, followed by 2023–24 League One top scorer Alfie May from divisional rivals Charlton Athletic.

Pre-season
After a week's training in Austria, to include a friendly against German second-tier team Paderborn 07, the team would take part in the third edition of the Arthur Cup, a match against Solihull Moors in aid of children's charities in memory of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes. The club's programme continued with three friendlies against local opposition – away to Walsall and Shrewsbury Town and at home to West Bromwich Albion – and a match to mark the first anniversary of the death of Birmingham City legend Trevor Francis, at home to another of his former clubs, Rangers.

August
Birmingham will start their league campaign at home to Reading on 10 August 2024.

FA Cup
As with all teams in the lower two divisions of the Football League, Birmingham enter the competition in the first round.

EFL Cup
Birmingham were drawn to play away to League One rivals Charlton Athletic in the first round.

EFL Trophy
When Birmingham last took part in this competition, then named the Football League Trophy, in the 1994–95 season, they beat Carlisle United in the final via Paul Tait's golden goal. In the group stage, Birmingham were drawn into Southern Group A alongside Shrewsbury Town, Walsall and Fulham U21.

Squad changes

 * For those players sold, released, or whose contract ended before the start of this season, see 2023–24 Birmingham City F.C. season.

In

 * † Brackets round a club's name indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.

Out

 * † Brackets round a club's name denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

Appearances and goals

 * Sources:


 * Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute.
 * Players marked † left the club during the playing season.
 * Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham.
 * Players listed with no appearances have been in the matchday squad but only as unused substitutes.
 * Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward