USMNT and Crystal Palace star Chris Richards becomes newest investor in USL club Birmingham Legion FC

Chris Richards, the Crystal Palace and United States Men's National Team defender, has joined the ownership group of Birmingham Legion FC, the USL Championship side and Alabama's first professional soccer club. The announcement, made on Thursday, marks a significant milestone for both Richards and soccer in Birmingham. The defender attended Legion games over the years when visiting his family and believes there is much potential for the sport to grow there.

"This means everything to me," Richards said of investing in Legion FC. "It's the city I was raised in and the city that made me, so to be able to give back to it and the people who formed this soccer community around it means the world to me."

"We've had a lot of players (from Birmingham) become successful. Now with the Legion, we have a professional circuit for local talent. Being able to grow that and have kids around Birmingham and Alabama see that this is a proven model is something that's really important to me."

The 24-year-old defender has played in Germany, England, and the United States even plying his trade for Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. That was before his move to Crystal Palace in 2022 and since then the American defender has made over 50 appearances for the club. Richards is a regular for the USMNT squad, having earned 23 caps since his debut in 2020.

Birmingham Legion FC are about to kick off their preseason calendar before the 2025 USL Championship season kicks off in March. The Legion kick things off with back-to-back home games at the Protective Stadium with Loudoun United FC in their season opener before Louisville City FC visit in the Legion’s second game of the season.