Pop star Ed Sheeran was recently asked to lend his talents to help out City of Ipswich to get a coveted player. The key recruitment came just moments before Sheeran joined Taylor Swift on stage for a concert at Wembley Stadium in August.
“In the summer, we tried to persuade one particular player to join the football club and very quickly realized he was an Ed Sheeran fan.” Mark Ashton, CEO of Ipswich, said at Soccerex industry event in Miami. “Ed jumped on a Zoom call with him at training, right before he stepped on stage with Taylor Swift. Hopefully that was a key part of getting the player over.”
Ashton did not reveal the identity of the player Sheeran helped recruit, but said that “he’s definitely got 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-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, which he has been a lifelong supporter of. Ipswich recently made their return to the Premier League for the first time since the 2002 season.
Sheeran is the club’s shirt sponsor from 2021, and he is regularly seen at Ipswich matches due to his status as a minority owner.
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