Blues appoint Hope Powell CBE as Women’s Technical Director

NEW YORK, July 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Birmingham City Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Hope Powell CBE as Women’s Technical Director.

Powell joins with immediate effect and will be responsible for the long-term vision of the Women’s team, creating a high-performance culture, and building the Women’s leadership team to drive success on and off the pitch. She will also be part of the Club’s Executive Leadership Group.

Powell has enjoyed a long and successful career in the game, starting as a player and winning 66 caps for England before transitioning into a variety of senior leadership positions.

Her accolades include leading England Women to four UEFA Women’s European Championships, including the final in 2009, and two FIFA Women’s World Cups. She also took charge of Team GB at the 2012 Olympics in London and between 2017 and 2022, was head coach of Barclays Women’s Super League side Brighton & Hove Albion. Most recently, she was a member of England’s backroom team, as a technical advisor, at the 2023 FIFA Men’s Under-20s World Cup in Argentina.

The 56-year-old now joins Blues with the Club preparing for their second season in the Barclays Women’s Championship and, after finishing runners-up in 2022/23, the team is targeting promotion.

Following her appointment, the Women’s Technical Director, Powell said: “I am excited to have the opportunity to join Birmingham City at the start of the journey. Having met Tom, Matt, and Garry it was clear that the Women’s team and its Academy is an important pillar of the Club’s transformation. Birmingham was a powerhouse when the WSL was formed. I am looking forward to putting in place the building blocks so that it can compete once again at the highest levels, both in England and then across Europe.

“I look forward to engaging with the local community and getting the players into schools and the local clubs. Young girls are looking for positive role models. Women footballers from Birmingham City can and will play that role in the local area and beyond.”

Knighthead has experience in women’s football through Matt Alvarez, a senior member of its leadership team and now a Birmingham City Limited board member. Alvarez was a board member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and launched San Diego Wave FC to great success in their inaugural season in 2022.  He will work with Powell to explore ways to create and build deeper connections between the two clubs.

Chairman Birmingham City Limited, Tom Wagner, said: “We are delighted that Hope has chosen to join Birmingham City and drive the Women’s team’s future success. It is a critical part of our overall strategy. Hope joining sends a powerful message, first to the women and girls of Birmingham and second to fans of the women’s game across the country, that Birmingham Women means business. Women’s football is doing an excellent job of bringing new fans into the sport. Not only are the athletes authentic and highly skilled they are also excellent role models. Birmingham City Women, under Hope’s leadership, is going to attract larger crowds, drive increased participation, engage with the community and lead to more commercial partners looking to work with us.”

Chief Executive Officer, Garry Cook, said: “Hope is a legend in the Women’s game. We are thrilled to have her involved, to provide valuable insight and expertise to oversee our Women’s teams. She has the mandate to invest in the team and to put in place the high-performance infrastructure necessary to attract and keep the best talent. It will also be a major benefit to have her as part of my Senior Leadership Group. The city of Birmingham is on the rise and we are looking forward to making a positive contribution through our Women’s and Men’s teams to how it is seen around the world.”

About Knighthead Capital Management LLC

Knighthead Capital Management, LLC (“Knighthead”) was co-founded in 2008 by Ara Cohen and Tom Wagner and currently has approximately $9.5 billion of assets under management. Knighthead is an event driven and deep value focused SEC registered investment advisor that specializes in investing in companies that need financial and operational restructuring. Knighthead has worked to create a diversified credit platform with an experienced team of investment professionals, specializing in credit analysis, sourcing, trading and restructuring. Knighthead’s long-term objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for its clients while emphasizing the preservation of capital. Knighthead manages assets across a variety of investment vehicles including a long/short Evergreen Hedge Fund, a number of Closed-End Credit Vehicles, a dedicated Real Estate Lending business and a sizable Insurance Asset Management business.

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