50 Cent to sponsor Under-14s girls soccer team in Wales

50 Cent follows Wrexham AFC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney with his own investment in Welsh soccer, although the rapper has started off at a more local level.

The award-winning artist is now the official sponsor of AFC Rumney Under-14s, a girls team based in Cardiff, Wales. The team will have the names 50 Cent and G-Unit, his hip-hop collective, emblazoned on their jerseys and tracksuits.

The unlikely sponsorship came about when a players’ father worked with 50 Cent on a recent tour. With the team needing some help to pay for the new kits, parents from the team suggested that he propose a sponsorship to the 48-year-old artist.

Ritchie Brown, manager of the team, told BBC that they had not expected the rap impresario to go for the idea.

“He said he would ask the question - worst case scenario was [50 Cent] would have just said no. Thankfully he didn’t, he agreed to it,” Brown said.

“He sponsored our away kit first of all, and then we were a little bit cheeky. We asked for a little bit more, and he sponsored us again for our tracksuits.”

The Cardiff-based team are not like to be playing any lucrative friendlies in the United States, as Wrexham have enjoyed since the arrival of Reynolds and McElhenney, but Brown is keen to show his appreciation for the gesture.

“We’re going to get a few photos taken and sent over to him, then hopefully he can give us a good luck video or something to acknowledge it all,” he explained.

“We’re massively appreciative of everything he’s doing for us right now. We love the support.”