- Ed Sheeran will have to shoot off at half-time of Ipswich’s match vs Liverpool
- Earlier this week the singer became a minority investor in the club he adores
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off!, available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Ed Sheeran has revealed why he will be deserting Portman Road at half-time on Ipswich Town’s return to the Premier League against Liverpool.
His revelation comes just two days after the singer, 33, bought a minority stake in the club he has loved since childhood.
Sheeran started sponsoring the Tractor Boys when they were in League One and has acquired a passive 1.4 per cent stake, meaning he will not join the board.
Yet he will not get to see the climactic stages of their match against the Reds after a 22-year wait because another duty calls.
That’s because he will be performing at a concert in Belgrade, Serbia, tonight for his ‘+ – = ÷ x’ Mathematics Tour.
Ed Sheeran has revealed why he will have to leave Ipswich’s season opener at half-time
The new minority owner will have to dash off because he is performing in Serbia tonight
The lifelong Tractor Boys fan was delighted to watch his team get going against Liverpool
‘I have to leave here at half-time because I’m playing in Serbia tonight. We almost couldn’t even come to the game but we had to,’ he told TNT Sports ahead of the match.
It will be the first time that Sheeran has performed in Serbia.
He added: ‘I just hope Ipswich score first because this place will explode! I hope we win 1-0 and it’s scrappy.
‘I’m really excited. Driving through town and seeing lots of people in Liverpool shirts and remembering that we’re in the Prem.
‘Being able to watch world-class football is great. To go from League One to the Championship to here, we’re going to see the difference in everything.
‘People like success stories like this. it is a grassroots club and it just feels like it’s lifted up the town. Ipswich has gone through some tough years, it’s great for the area and the county.
‘I started sponsoring them in League One and that carried on into the Championship. When it got to the Premier League, obviously the price of sponsorship is crazy. I said I’d do one season in the Prem and then Mark (Ashton) basically invited me to invest as a natural progression from being a sponsor.
‘I’m not signing players, it’s more of just a gesture but it feels nice to involved in the club.’
More to follow.
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