Pop star Ed Sheeran recently was asked to lend his talents to helping Ipswich Town land a coveted player. The key recruitment took place just moments before Sheeran joined Taylor Swift on stage for a concert at Wembley Stadium in August.
“In the summer, we were trying to persuade one particular player to join the football club and realized very quickly that he was an Ed Sheeran fan,” Ipswich CEO Mark Ashton said at a Soccerex industry event in Miami. “Ed jumped on a Zoom call with him at the training ground, just before he stepped on stage with Taylor Swift. Hopefully that was a key part in getting the player across the line.”
Ashton didn’t reveal the identity of the player that Sheeran was helping to recruit, but did say that “he’s certainly a few goals.”
Sheeran performed during a leg of “The Eras Tour” on Aug. 15 at Wembley Stadium. That was just one day before Ipswich signed Sammie Szmodics from Blackburn.
Szmodics was the top scorer in the second-tier Championship in England while with Blackburn. He ended up scoring a goal in Ipswich’s 2-1 win against Tottenham earlier this month, and even posted a photo of himself with Sheeran on his Instagram account.
Back in August, Sheeran bought a small stake in Ipswich, who he has been a lifelong supporter of. Ipswich recently made its return to the Premier League for the first time since the 2002 season.
Sheeran has been the club’s shirt sponsor since 2021, and he’s regularly visible at Ipswich matches given his status as a minority owner.
