Ed Sheeran was about to join Taylor Swift on stage at a concert over the summer when he got a call from his favorite soccer team.
It needed his help to sign a player.
Sheeran, the British pop star, is a , which returned to the English Premier League this season for the first time since 2002.
Turns out he is more than just an investor and lifelong fan. He鈥檚 now part of Ipswich鈥檚 recruitment team.
鈥淚n 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,鈥� said Ipswich CEO Mark Ashton, speaking at a Soccerex industry event in Miami.
鈥淓d 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.鈥�
Ashton didn鈥檛 disclose the player in question, saying only: 鈥淗e鈥檚 certainly scoring a few goals.鈥�
Sheeran and Swift were on stage together at a show at Wembley Stadium on Aug. 15, a day before Ipswich signed Sammie Szmodics from Blackburn.
Szmodics was the top scorer in the second-tier Championship last season, and after scoring from an overhead kick in Ipswich's this month, he posted a of himself with Sheeran on Instagram.
鈥淥verhead kick, Win & a smudge with big ed. GET IN THERE,鈥� Szmodics, an Ireland international, wrote.
Sheeran is Ipswich鈥檚 and has been the club鈥檚 shirt sponsor since 2021. His status as a minority owner grants him access to an executive box at Ipswich鈥檚 Portman Road stadium and he is regularly seen at matches.
Ipswich hosts Manchester United on Sunday in a match notable for being Ruben Amorim鈥檚 first in charge of United.
Ashton spoke highly of Sheeran at the Soccerex event, saying with a smile: 鈥淗e鈥檚 a local man, a global superstar, sponsor of the football club, now a shareholder and now officially a part of our recruitment team.鈥�
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AP soccer:
Steve Douglas, The Associated Press
