Surely many readers are no stranger to the name Ed Sheeran – a pop star famous for hits like “Shape of You” or “Photograph”.

In addition to his artistic activities, Sheeran is also known to football fans for his love of the king sport. He even personally sponsored Ipswich Town Club – the team that just achieved promotion to the Premier League next season. But few people know that this sponsorship of the singer born in 1991 was initially inspired by the local women’s soccer team where Sheeran grew up.

Fall in love with your childhood football team

Ed Sheeran grew up in the town of Framlingham in the county of Suffolk, nearly 30km northeast of Ipswich. He moved here with his family when he was 4 years old. This small town has an ancient castle built in the 12th century, and that was the inspiration for the 2017 hit “Castle on the Hill” – a song about Ed Sheeran’s childhood.

As a child, Sheeran played for Framlingham Town and is a passionate fan of Ipswich Town. He often appears in the stands of Portman Road to cheer for Ipswich – the team that will return to the Premier League in the 2024/25 season after more than 20 years of waiting.

In 2021, boyhood club Framlingham approached Ed Sheeran with a surprise offer. Talking to BBC Radio 1, Sheeran admitted: “It all started when I received an email from them saying, please sponsor a shirt for Framlingham Town’s U11 women’s team. And I agreed.”

The Framlingham Town women’s team wore shirts with the logo of Sheeran’s record label Gingerbread Man Records. When Sheeran’s first daughter was born in September 2020, Framlingham also sent him a team children’s uniform.

Great source of motivation for Ipswich

Sponsoring Framlingham made Sheeran start thinking about the Ipswich team. Ipswich’s shirt sponsorship contract expires after the end of the 2020/21 season, and Sheeran wanted to ask about the team’s next sponsorship plan.

After that, Ed Sheeran actually asked the team, and Ipswich also replied “Sure. Why not?

So, Ed Sheeran has become the main sponsor on the jerseys of Ipswich Town’s men’s and women’s teams from 2021. The contract has undergone 2 extensions and is still maintained until next season.

This combination really exploded with Ipswich fans. The motifs on the jerseys related to Ed’s albums help the team’s jersey sales increase to record levels every year.

On the other hand, Ipswich also made great strides in performance. Ipswich’s men’s team played sublimely this season, finishing in 2nd place in the Championship, thereby making a spectacular return to the Premier League.

As for Ipswich’s women’s team, although they have not yet been able to win the right to play in the highest division, they are actively developing the team as well as the youth training academy. It can be said that Ed Sheeran has breathed new life into the football scene of Suffolk County – a place that does not develop football as strongly as other places in England.