Mark Ashton claims singer-songwriter has given newly promoted Premier League club more reach than Manchester United.
Ipswich Town will not go down the betting route when trying to find a new shirt sponsor after their current deal with Ed Sheeran expires, according to Mark Ashton, the club’s chairman and chief executive.
Singer-songwriter Sheeran, who is a lifelong Ipswich fan, has sponsored the newly promoted Premier League side since it was in League One and extended the deal for a further year ahead of the team’s return to English soccer’s top flight.
In August, Sheeran acquired a 1.4 per cent stake in Ipswich but, speaking on stage during a session at Leaders Week London, Ashton appeared to confirm that the 33-year-old’s sponsorship of the club will not continue beyond this season.
He also seemed to rule out the possibility of Sheeran’s replacement coming from the gambling sector.
“Ed’s just incredible,” Ashton said. “He gets involved in designing some of the kits, personalises some of them a bit.
“When we launch a kit and he is live on a stage in Vegas, we have a reach that even Man United and Chelsea would love to have, because he is a world superstar who cares about this football club.
“One of the things you won’t see on our shirt is a gaming sponsor. I’m not saying that’s right or wrong, but for us, it’s not the direction of travel we want to go. It’s not something that Ed would want to see.
“We’re a community-based football club, and we will look for sponsors in a different type of direction.”
Ipswich last had a betting brand as their shirt sponsor for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, when Magical Vegas appeared on the front of the team’s playing tops. That deal triggered a negative reaction from fans, including from the chairman of the ITFC Supporters Club at the time.
Even if Ipswich were to end up with a betting brand on their shirts, the deal would only be permitted to run for one season if they retain their top-flight status.
Premier League clubs will be banned from printing betting companies on the front of their shirts after the 2025/26 season, although will still be allowed to display gambling brands on their sleeves and on advertising hoardings around their stadiums.
During his session, Ashton also called on the Premier League and English Football League (EFL), which oversees the three divisions below the top flight, to reach a new deal on television revenue, with talks on hold since March.
Ashton, who has also previously served as chief executive of Watford and Bristol City, maintained his support for the controversial parachute payments system, which sees a series of solidarity payments made to clubs relegated from the Premier League to help them manage the financial repercussions of dropping out of the top flight.
With changes coming to the Premier League’s financial regulations, Ashton also said that the top flight’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) need to be looked at.
“I am a capitalist at heart and was on the EFL board,” Ashton said. “They know my view, I am in favour of parachute payments.
“But I think we need to review the Financial Fair Play regulations, I think they are outdated, and the costs [of competing at the top level] have changed.
“You can see that the Premier League clubs couldn’t spend as much this summer because of Financial Fair Play, I think it needs to be in line with Uefa rules in their competitions but it has to be a flow between the Championship and Premier League.
“I think we need to look at the Premier League working with the EFL for a new financial deal – whatever it looks like.”
