Photo by Pixabay
Don’t be surprised if League One team
Ipswich Town have a spring in their step next
season. Not only will they have new, and very well-funded owners, but they’ll also be
wearing a logo from one of the town’s most famous sons. Together, the combination may be
enough to give them the boost they need to reach the playoffs, after a disappointing ninth
place finish this season.
The club will be under new owners in the form of a specially formed company, optimistically
called Gamechanger 20, which is backed by the American investment funds ORG and Three
Lions. Three lions have a pedigree in football ownership, having found success with Phoenix
Rising FC in the USL Championship.
More excitingly, the club’s shirts will be sponsored by world-famous singer/songwriter
Ed Sheeran. "The football club is a big part of the local community and this is my way of
showing my support," says Sheeran. He has been a lifelong Ipswich fan and is often seen at
Portman Road with his wife Cherry.
Local hero
Sheeran was born in Suffolk and has never forgotten his rural roots. Many of his songs, such
as Castle on the Hill, feature the local landscape, and he concluded his Divide tour at
Ipswich’s Chantry Park, playing four nights in front of 160,000 fans. He appeared on stage in
a specially made Ipswich Town shirt, which was later made available for fans to buy, hinting
at things to come.
Sheeran has found worldwide fame with his three albums so far: +, x and ÷, breaking sales
and chart records around the world. His debut album, +, from 2011, went to number one in
the UK and was followed in 2014 by his second album, x, which went on to be the second
best selling album in the world that year. Thinking Out Loud, a single from x, won two
Grammy awards. His third album, ÷, went one better, becoming the best selling album in the
world in 2017 and achieving the remarkable feat of producing ten top-ten singles in the UK.
New shirts, new start
The move marks a departure for the Suffolk club, who had previously worn the logo of an
online bookmaker, targeting fans who want to
bet on football. This proved to be a
controversial move and the company ended up gifting their sponsorship to the Carers’ Trust
charity to appease the fans. With such a huge local following, it is unlikely that Ed Sheeran’s
sponsorship will generate any such negativity.
The new shirts do have an air of mystery about them, though. Bearing the logo ‘+ - = ÷ x
TOUR’ they hint at a greatest hits tour for Sheeran, but he is not ready to explain the design
just yet. "All will be revealed in time," is all he was prepared to explain at this point.
A bright future
Both Sheeran and the club are excited for the future at Ipswich Town. "With the new owners
from the US coming in, there are sure to be exciting times ahead for Ipswich fans, including
myself," said Sheeran in the
official club statement. ““We are obviously thrilled that Ed has
agreed to become our shirt sponsor next season,” added Ipswich director of sales Rosie
Richardson, noting that despite his global fame, “he has always shown his support for his
hometown.”