Star footballer Bellingham invests in Hundred cricket franchise after IPL backing: Report

Superstar footballer Jude Bellingham, who plays for England and Real Madrid, has entered the cricket market by acquiring a minority stake in one of the teams in The Hundred.

Bellingham's investment in The Hundred comes after Indian Premier League teams invested heavily in four teams; however, the renowned midfielder has bought a stake in Birmingham Phoenix, which does not have any IPL connection.

Jude Bellingham invests in The Hundred

According to The Cricketer, Bellingham, who grew up in Birmingham and also played for Birmingham City, has bought a 1.2% stake in Birmingham Phoenix. The Phoenix are co-owned by Knighthead Capital, an American investment fund company and the county team Warwickshire.

Bellingham's entry into the franchise cricket market through the Hundred competition underlines the growing economic potential of the game. The England cricket league also recently attracted a lot of money from India.

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Four teams in the Hundred — Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave, and Sunrisers Leeds — are now co-owned by IPL team owners. The remaining four sides are London Spirit, Birmingham Phoenix, Trent Rockets, and Welsh Fire.

Lalit Modi: 'The Hundred will die in three years'

However, not everyone is upbeat about the potential of the league. Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi recently claimed that the Hundred competition will die in just three years.

“It’ll die in three years," Modi told former England captain Michael Vaughan on a podcast. “Completely die. It’ll be finished. It won’t be there. I guarantee it. In three to four years, it won't exist. It’ll pump so much money in it that there will be no future.

"I’ll give you the simple reasoning: it’s in the month of August. Great window, that’s all you have. There’s no promotion or marketing behind it. Sky has no reason to promote it. There is no money coming into the game. At the end of the day, the people who bought the teams are expecting a return. The return comes from media rights and nothing else.”

“Would you buy a Sky package just for The Hundred, for one month? The UK is not an advertisement-driven market. The UK market is the best in the world for subscription revenue. That is Sky Television's model. Its model is subscriber-based."

He further added that competition from other sports and the cost of subscription will make Hundred an unviable product.

“People fight for the cricket package, but only when the Ashes are on or when India comes to play. That’s spread over four or five months. You have a short window of one month to put The Hundred. You’re buying a cricket package, which is already diminishing."

"Football is taking over the English market. If people have disposable income... and they have constraints on buying a Sky box, what are they buying? Packages. The first sell is football. Formula One and tennis are growing very fast...The young kids dictate what we’re going to watch... You can’t milk something that is not milkable, guys. I mean, you can’t go and milk a cow when you can’t milk the bloody thing. It’s running out of juice."