Ipswich Town Chairman Mark Ashton has announced that the club will not pursue a front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship after their current deal with Ed Sheeran ends this season.
Sheeran’s ‘Tour’ sponsorship has featured on Ipswich kits for several years, during which the club rose from League One to the Premier League. With the deal expiring soon, the club will seek a new sponsorship partner.
Ashton made it clear that the club is not interested in partnering with a gambling company, aligning with growing concerns over betting sponsorships in football. He explained, “One of the things you won’t see on our shirt is a gaming sponsor. I’m not saying that’s right or wrong, but for us, it’s not the direction of travel we want to go. It’s not something that Ed would want to see.”
Before the Sheeran deal, Ipswich had a sponsorship with betting company Magical Vegas from 2018 to 2020, which drew criticism from the supporters’ club. Steve Doe, Chairman of the Ipswich Town Supporters’ Club, expressed his discomfort with the deal in 2018 but acknowledged, “it’s the reality of the world.”
Aston Villa faced similar fan opposition over their sponsorship with betting firm BK8, which was terminated after one season following backlash over its marketing practices. Villa supporters urged the club to drop the deal, leading to a shift to Betano.
Fan protests like these have influenced Premier League clubs to voluntarily agree to ban gambling front-of-shirt sponsorships starting from the 2026/27 season. Even if Ipswich remains in the Premier League, any gambling sponsorship would only be viable for one season before the ban takes effect.
Ashton emphasized Ipswich’s “community-first” approach as the key reason for not pursuing gambling sponsorships. He said, “We’re a community-based football club, and we will look for sponsors in a different type of direction.”
During a panel session at Leaders Week London, Ashton also praised Sheeran’s involvement with the club, noting his transition from sponsor to minority owner with a 1.4% stake. He remarked, “Ed’s just incredible. He gets involved in designing some of the kits, personalising some of them a bit.
“When we launch a kit and he is live on a stage in Vegas, we have a reach that even Man United and Chelsea would love to have, because he is a world superstar who cares about this football club. He sponsored the club when nobody else really wanted to, got us to the Premier League, came to the Premier League with us and said, ‘look, I’ll do a year in the Premier League with you, then I’m going to step off.’”
