Ed Sheeran was in attendance as Ipswich Town played their first Premier League game in 22 years.
The English pop star was at Portman Road as The Tractor Boys played host to Liverpool in their opening match of the 2024/25 season, the club having earned promotion from the EFL Championship in May.
Although the result did not go as he might have wished — Liverpool won the match 2-0 thanks to goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah — it was still a special occasion for Sheeran and all the Ipswich fans present, who have watched their team go from struggling in the third tier to playing back at the highest level thanks to the efforts of former Manchester United coach Kieran McKenna.
But what exactly is Sheeran's connection to Ipswich? And where is the club based? The Sporting News explains.
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Does Ed Sheeran own Ipswich Town?
Ed Sheeran became a minority stakeholder of Ipswich Town in August 2024. He does not own the club outright.
His total stake in the Premier League club is 1.4 per cent, while the agreement also allows him use of an executive box at Ipswich's Portman Road stadium.
"It's any football fan's dream to be an owner of the club they support, and I feel so grateful for this opportunity," he said. "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.
"It's such a joy to be a fan of Ipswich Town. There are ups and downs but football is all about taking the highs and the lows. I'm not a voting shareholder or a board member, this is just me putting some money into the club I love and them returning the gesture, so please don't get onto me with signing suggestions or tactics to play!"
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Where is Ed Sheeran from?
Sheeran was born in Halifax in West Yorkshire in the north of England on February 17, 1991.
His Ipswich allegiance is because his family moved to the area when he was three years old. He was raised in Framlingham, a town just a few miles north of Ipswich.
Ed Sheeran net worth 2024
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Sheeran has a personal wealth of around $200 million.
The majority of his income is through his hugely successful touring. The 'Divide' tour that ran from March 2017 to August 2019 grossed approximately $780m, at the time becoming the highest-grossing concert tour in history.
Where is Ipswich?
Ipswich is a town in the east of England, in the country of Suffolk.
The most populous town in the East Anglia region after Norwich — the two share an intense footballing rivalry, affectionately known as the Old Farm derby due to the area's agricultural heritage — Ipswich is around 80 miles to the northeast of London.
It is one of the oldest towns in England, having been a continuously populated settlement since around the seventh century.