Why is Ed Sheeran an Ipswich Town fan? Pop star attends Premier League game against Liverpool

Ed Sheeran has been a busy man in the last week or two, first appearing on stage alongside Taylor Swift at one of her Eras Tour shows at Wembley Stadium in London before heading along to watch Ipswich Town take in Liverpool in the Premier League.

Sheeran acquires stake in Ipswich

Sheeran is undoubtedly the Tractor Boys’ most famous fan and even bought a minority stake (1.4%) in the club this week, such is his devotion to them. The 33-year-old was born in Yorkshire in Northern England but moved to Suffolk, the county in which Ipswich is located in the east of the country, when he was three years old.

Speaking to the club’s website after his acquisition was announced, Sheeran said: “I am really excited to have bought a small percentage of my home town football club. It’s any football fan’s dream to be an owner of the club they support, and I feel so grateful for this opportunity.

“I have lived in Suffolk since I was three years old and, while I travel the world and sometimes feel like an outsider in big cities, Suffolk and Ipswich have always made me feel part of the community and protected.

“This is just me putting some money into the club I love and them returning the gesture, so please don’t get on to me with signing suggestions or tactics to play!”

+–=÷× Tour: what does Ipswich’s sponsor mean?

Since 2021, Sheeran has sponsored the men’s and women’s jerseys, which are currently emblazoned with ‘+–=÷× Tour’ (pronounced the Mathematics Tour), the name of singer-songwriter’s current world tour, which started in Dublin in April 2022 and finishes in Dusseldorf, Germany in September 2025.

Ipswich were top division regulars in England in the 1970s and 1980s, even winning the UEFA Cup under future Barcelona manager Bobby Robson in 1981.

They had brief spells in the Premier League in the 1990s and early 2000s but hadn’t played in the competition since they were relegated at the end of the 2001/02 season.