This English Soccer Team Is Sponsored by…Ed Sheeran’s Tour?
The English Premier League kicked off its season over the weekend, which means soccer fans worldwide are familiarizing themselves with all the offseason transfers, wondering if this is finally the year that someone unseats Manchester City, and also getting to know the new teams that were promoted from the second division. One of those teams, Ipswich Town (known colloquially as the Tractor Boys), turned some heads on Saturday when they played their first Premier League game since 2002.
No, it wasn’t for their performance on the pitch—the Tractor Boys suffered a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool—it was because of their delightfully quirky, unbelievably British jersey sponsor. Ipswich is rocking Umbro shirts that prominently advertise Ed Sheeran’s ongoing Mathematics Tour.
IPSWICH, ENGLAND – AUGUST 17: Massimo Luongo of Ipswich during the Premier League match between Ipswich Town FC and Liverpool FC at Portman Road on August 17, 2024 in Ipswich, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Ipswich is located in Suffolk, a county on England’s eastern shore—and, not incidentally, where Sheeran grew up. A longtime fan, and now part owner of the club, Sheeran is now literally part of the fabric of the team, on both the men’s and women’s side. His world tour, a nod to his five math-related album titles (“Plus”, “Multiply”, “Divide”, “Equals”, and “Subtract”), is a 144-show ordeal that began in 2022 and concludes with a 2025 grand finale in Dusseldorf. The tour has actually been the team’s front-of-shirt sponsor since 2021, but now that they’re back on the big stage again, people are taking notice.
When the sponsorship was initially announced, Sheeran said the club has always been a “big part of the community and this is my way of showing my support.” Giving a mega rock star such prime, visible, advertising space is definitely a bit unorthodox—other teams around the league are sponsored by billion-dollar corporations like American Express, Etihad Airways, etc.—but you know what? It’s fun as hell. Even better, they’ve also got a third kit that’s hot pink and pays tribute to some local spots around Ipswich.
This is not the first time that a European soccer team competed at its country’s highest level with a wacky sponsorship from the entertainment world. During the 2003-04 season, Spanish side Atletico Madrid (who, at that juncture, were nine-time La Liga champions, no slouch!) were in cahoots with Columbia Pictures. Rather than just splashing the company’s name across the chest, though, Atletico Madrid changed up their look every time a new movie came out. This led to some utterly spectacular images of a storied Spanish soccer team playing games while shilling for Spider-Man and Hellboy.
CORUNA, SPAIN: Atletico Madrid’s Argentinian player Ariel Ibagaza (L) fights for the ball with Real Zaragoza’s Brazilian player Alvaro Maior De Aquino (R), during the friendly football match at Riazor stadium, in Coruna, 14 August 2004. AFP Photo / Miguel RIOPA (Photo credit should read MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images)MIGUEL RIOPA/Getty Images
ALBACETE, SPAIN: Atletico Madrid’s Fernando Torres celebrates his goal during a league match in Carlos Belmonte Stadium in Albacete 12 September 2004. Atelico Madrid won 2-0. AFP PHOTO/JOSE JORDAN (Photo credit should read JOSE JORDAN/AFP via Getty Images)JOSE JORDAN/Getty Images
Ipswich Town has not yet announced plans to do something similar for each stop of Sheeran’s tour. But if you see them take the field this weekend with a QR code on the warmup shirt, it’s probably to purchase tickets for the August 31 gig at Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia, Bulgaria.
