Ed Sheeran wore the Lionesses home shirt as he performed an encore at the end of his concert at Wembley. Sheeran is in the middle of a five-night run at the iconic venue, with his remaining performances scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The English popstar delighted women’s football fans last night when he came out for his encore in the Lionesses shirt. Sheeran is known for ending his concerts wearing a sports shirt of some kind – he wore a number of Gaelic Athletic Association shirts when touring in Ireland last month, and once donned a Welsh football shirt with Gareth Bale’s name on the back when singing in Cardiff.It is the first time he has shown off a women’s football shirt, however, and he even got his name printed on the back with the number 22.The moment will help raise the profile of the Lionesses as they prepare for Euro 2022, which kicks off on July 6th. England will take on Austria in front of a sell-out crowd at Old Trafford, before taking on Norway and Northern Ireland in their remaining Group A matches. 

The knockout stages are set to begin on July 20th, with the final set to take place at Wembley on July 31st. 

The hosts are considered one of the favourites to win the title, particularly after an emphatic 5-1 victory against defending champions Netherlands on Friday. But Sweden, France, Germany, Norway and Spain are strong challengers. 

It is not the first time Sheeran has shown support for women’s football. Last May, he signed on as a shirt sponsor for Ipswich Town for the 2021-2022 season.

Popstar Ed Sheeran

His sponsorship extended to the women’s team, who play in the third tier. This caused great excitement among the club’s female players, with winger Sophie Peskett talking to Eurosport. 

"It is nice to know that someone like Ed who has been a fan of the club for his whole life is in support of women's football too,” she said. 

“I think it'll be massive for women's football. He's just a nice guy and wants to help us and that's great.”

Sheeran confirmed earlier this month he had renewed the sponsorship deal with both the men and women’s teams.Â