Pop star Ed Sheeran was recently asked to lend his talents to help Ipswich town bring in a coveted player. The main recruitment took place just before Sheeran joined Taylor Swift on stage for a concert at Wembley Stadium in August.
“Over the summer we tried to persuade a certain player to join the football club but we quickly realized he was an Ed Sheeran fan.” Ipswich CEO Mark Ashton said at a Soccerex industry event in Miami. “Ed did a Zoom call with him on the training pitch just before he stepped on stage with Taylor Swift. Hopefully that was a key part in getting the player over the line.”
Ashton did not reveal the identity of the player Sheeran helped recruit, but did say that “he’s definitely scored a few goals.”
Sheeran performed during a leg of “The Eras Tour” on August 15 at Wembley Stadium. That was just one day before Ipswich signed Sammie Szmodics from Blackburn.
Szmodics was the top scorer in the second championship England while with Blackburn. He finally scored a goal in Ipswich’s 2-1 win against Tottenham earlier this month, and even posted a photo of herself with Sheeran on his Instagram account.
In August, Sheeran bought a small stake in Ipswich, who he has been a supporter of all his life. Ipswich recently made their first return to the Premier League since the 2002 season.
Sheeran has been the club’s shirt sponsor since 2021 and is regularly visible at Ipswich matches, given his status as a minority owner.