League One clash set to make history, with immersive reality experience

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League One games often don’t capture the attention - but this one certainly will

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Krystian Bielik of Birmingham City is held back from the melee during the Sky Bet League One match between Birmingham City FC and Wrexham AFC at St Andrews at Knighthead Park on September 16, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
League One match kicks off between Birmingham and Wrexham (Image credit: Getty Images)

League One games rarely grab the attention in the same ways that Premier League matches do, but that looks set to change.

For the first time in English Football League history, a League One game is set to be televised live on CBS Sports and COSM in the United States.

COSM is an immersive entertainment venue in Los Angeles and Dallas that provides supporters with a shared reality of the game. Premier League matches are often shown, but this is the first time a League One game will be shown.

League One clash between Birmingham and Wrexham set to make history

Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney

Wrexham owners Reynolds and McElhenney (Image credit: Alamy)

Birmingham City are set to travel to the Racehorse Ground to take on Wrexham on January 23, with the game kicking off at 8pm on a Thursday night and being shown on CBS Sports and COSM in the US.

Earlier this year, Wrexham and Birmingham were hoping to fulfil one of this season’s fixtures in the United States, in order to build on their growing fan bases, but the EFL stopped that from happening.

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Jay Stansfield of Birmingham City celebrates his first goal during the Sky Bet League One match between Birmingham City FC and Wrexham AFC at St Andrewís at Knighthead Park on September 16, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

Stansfield scored in September (Image credit: Getty Images)

Wrexham are owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, while NFL star Tom Brady has a stake in Birmingham.

The game could have a huge bearing on the promotion race in League One, too. Wycombe currently top the table, while Birmingham are second in the other automatic promotion spot. Wrexham are third, breathing down the necks of the top two.

There are still six league games between now and their clash in mid-January, though, with plenty of changes set to happen.

Birmingham won 3-1 earlier in the season when the pair met at St Andrew’s.

In FourFourTwo’s view, it’s staggering to see a League One game draw such attention in the US, regardless of who their owners are. This can only be a positive.

Ryan Dabbs
Ryan Dabbs
Staff writer

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.