Soccer Aid is a biennial British charity event that has raised over £20 million in aid of UNICEF UK, through ticket sales and donations from the public. The event is a football match between two teams of celebrities and former professional players, representing England and the Rest of the World (RoW). Soccer Aid was initiated by Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes.
Television coverage began on ITV on 22 May 2006 in a show presented by Ant & Dec. Dermot O'Leary took over as main presenter in 2010. The event returned on 7 September 2008, won by England for a second time and again on 6 June 2010, won by the Rest of the World after a penalty shoot-out. England beat the RoW a third time on 27 May 2012 and RoW won for a second time in June 2014. England won for the fourth time on 5 June 2016.
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Event details
Soccer Charities Video
Soccer Aid 2006
ITV, 22-27 May 2006
Event schedule
- 22 May 2006 - Start of the television coverage, presented by Ant and Dec. Rest of the World defeats England in a penalty shoot-out
- 23 May 2006 - Practice match: England 1-0 England Legends (Craven Cottage, London)
- 24 May 2006 - Practice match: Rest of the World 3-7 Scotland Legends (Craven Cottage, London)
- 25 May 2006 - Rest of the World defeats England in a Football Quiz
- 26 May 2006 - Coaches name starting line-ups for the match
- 27 May 2006 - Soccer Aid Match: England 2-1 Rest of the World (Old Trafford, Manchester), attendance 71,960
The practice matches were over 60 minutes, with the Soccer Aid match over 90 minutes.
The competition was organised on behalf of UNICEF UK, with profits from the matches along with donations and sponsorship donated to UNICEF programs in Africa, Asia and the Americas.
England beat the Rest Of The World 2-1 with the goals coming from Les Ferdinand and Jonathan Wilkes, which put England into a two-goal lead but a handball inside the area from David Gray resulted in a penalty converted by Diego Maradona. Wilkes won the Man of the Match award.
England squad
The England squad was managed by former England national football team manager Terry Venables, assisted by David Geddis and Ted Buxton. The original squad comprised 16 players, with Bryan Robson added later. A handful of the players, notably Angus Deayton, had previous celebrity international experience from the previous month's England v Germany: The Legends match in Reading, which Germany won 4-2. The England squad went into the match with no major injury worries. Their victory over a squad of ex-England internationals from the 1960s to 1990s on Tuesday morning was tempered with defeats to the Rest of the World in a penalty shootout and football quiz.
Celebrities
- Robbie Williams (captain)
- David Gray
- Jamie Theakston
- Bradley Walsh
- Jonathan Wilkes
- Ben Shephard
- Ronnie O'Sullivan
- Damian Lewis
- Angus Deayton
- Dean Lennox Kelly
Legends
- David Seaman
- Tony Adams
- Paul Gascoigne
- Jamie Redknapp
- Les Ferdinand
- John Barnes
- Bryan Robson
- Graeme Le Saux
Rest of the World squad
The Rest of the World squad was managed by Ruud Gullit, with Gus Poyet as his assistant. Captain Gordon Ramsay injured his leg in the early training sessions and was considered doubtful for the match. The original squad of 16 players, which later saw 2 changes, was supplemented by the addition of Diego Maradona during the buildup to the competition. Lothar Matthäus had appeared in the England v Germany: The Legends match the previous month. The Rest of the World squad was wracked by injuries and withdrawals, and suffered from a lack of players. Desailly, Matthäus, Schmeichel and Ginola all arrived with only 2 or 3 days to spare before the match; Ginola arrived during half-time of their warm-up defeat to the Scotland Legends on Wednesday afternoon, and Diego Maradona only joined the squad on the day before the match. Also, Craig Doyle and Brian McFadden went into the match carrying knocks, which led to management members Ruud Gullit and Gus Poyet coming on as substitutes on Wednesday and in the match itself.
Celebrities
- Gordon Ramsay (captain)
- David Campese
- Patrick Kielty
- Eddie Irvine (withdrew and was replaced by Gareth Thomas)
- Gareth Thomas (replacement for Eddie Irvine)
- Ben Johnson
- Sergei Fedorov
- Brian McFadden
- Alastair Campbell
- Craig Doyle
- Alessandro Nivola
- Michael Greco
Legends
- Gianfranco Zola
- Marcel Desailly
- David Ginola
- Dunga
- Lothar Matthäus
- Peter Schmeichel
- Diego Maradona
- Ruud Gullit (Player/Manager)
- Gus Poyet (Player/Assistant Manager)
Other notable participants
The match was refereed by Pierluigi Collina, the Italian referee considered by many fans as the best referee of all time.
The match
Soccer Aid 2008
Event schedule
England v Rest of the World, at 19:30 just before kick-off Jonathan Ansell sang the footballing anthem "Nessun Dorma" whilst the players were introduced to Sir Geoff Hurst.
England squad
The England squad was coached by Harry Redknapp, with Bryan Robson as his assistant manager.
Celebrities
- Ben Shephard
- Jamie Theakston
- Kyran Bracken
- Jonathan Wilkes
- Gareth Gates
- Tom Felton
- Danny Jones
- Craig David
- Chris Fountain
- Angus Deayton
- Hugo Speer
Legends
- Alan Shearer
- Jamie Redknapp
- Teddy Sheringham
- David Seaman
- Graeme Le Saux
- Des Walker
Rest of the World squad
The Rest Of The World squad was coached by Kenny Dalglish, with Ian Rush as player-assistant manager.
Celebrities
- Gordon Ramsay
- Brian Lara
- Nicky Byrne
- Kenny Logan
- Patrick Kielty
- Alastair Campbell
- Gethin Jones
- Rodrigo Santoro
- Santiago Cabrera
- Gilles Marini
- Brian McFadden
Legends
- Franco Baresi
- Jaap Stam
- Paolo Di Canio
- Romário
- Luís Figo
- Cláudio Taffarel (replacement for Peter Schmeichel)
- Ian Rush
- Peter Schmeichel (withdrew and was replaced by Cláudio Taffarel)
Other notable participants
The referee at the start of the match was Pierluigi Collina, who also refereed the previous match in 2006 and is regarded as the best referee of all time. However, after Collina was injured in the first half he was replaced by Scottish referee Hugh Dallas. The process of two professional referees overseeing one half of the match each has since been maintained in subsequent series.
The match
Soccer Aid 2010
Soccer Aid 2010 was played on 6 June 2010. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV and presented by Dermot O'Leary.
England squad
- Robbie Williams (captain)
- Paddy McGuinness
- Bradley Walsh
- Jamie Theakston
- Ricky Hatton
- Damian Lewis
- Olly Murs
- Jonathan Wilkes
- Dominic Cooper
- Ralf Little
- Rupert Penry-Jones (injured)
- Ben Shephard
- David Seaman
- Alan Shearer
- Teddy Sheringham
- Jamie Redknapp
- Martin Keown
- Nicky Butt
- Manager: Harry Redknapp
- Assistant manager: James Corden
- Coach: Bryan Robson
Rest of the World squad
- Michael Sheen (captain)
- James Kyson
- Gordon Ramsay
- Brian Lara
- Patrick Kielty
- Nicky Byrne
- Shane Filan
- Mike Myers
- Joe Calzaghe
- Gethin Jones
- Woody Harrelson
- Simon Baker
- Jens Lehmann
- Henrik Larsson
- Zinedine Zidane
- Ryan Giggs
- Luís Figo
- Sami Hyypiä (replacement for Paolo Maldini)
- Paolo Maldini (withdrew and was replaced by Sami Hyypiä)
- Manager: Kenny Dalglish
- Coaches: Ian Rush and Eric Harrison
- Referee: Pierluigi Collina (replaced at half time by Mark Clattenburg)
The match
Soccer Aid 2012
Soccer Aid 2012 was played on 27 May 2012, as something of a precursor to UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2012 Summer Olympics. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV and presented by Dermot O'Leary. Cat Deeley presented the backstage build-up show before the main event.
England squad
- Robbie Williams
- Paddy McGuinness
- Marvin Humes
- Jamie Theakston
- Aston Merrygold
- John Bishop
- Olly Murs
- Jonathan Wilkes (Captain)
- Jason Isaacs
- Mark Owen
- David Seaman
- Des Walker
- Teddy Sheringham
- Kevin Phillips*
- Martin Keown
- Graeme Le Saux
- Manager: Sam Allardyce
- Assistant manager: Peter Reid
- Coach: Bradley Walsh
Rest of the World squad
- Michael Sheen (captain)
- Will Ferrell
- Gordon Ramsay
- Gerard Butler
- Patrick Kielty
- James McAvoy
- Serge Pizzorno
- Mike Myers
- Joe Calzaghe
- Edward Norton
- Woody Harrelson
- Edwin van der Sar
- Jaap Stam
- Clarence Seedorf
- Roy Keane
- Hernán Crespo
- Fredrik Ljungberg
- Manager: Kenny Dalglish
- Assistant manager: Ian Rush
- Coach: Eric Harrison
The match
Soccer Aid 2014
The 2014 match was played at Old Trafford on 8 June 2014.
The main match was hosted by Dermot O'Leary with Kirsty Gallagher, and Cat Deeley presented the backstage build-up show before the main event. Caroline Flack presented from the BT Tower in London. Match commentators were Sam Matterface and Graham Taylor, and Sol Campbell was a studio guest.
By full-time, the total raised for UNICEF was £4,233,019.
England squad
- Danny Jones
- Stephen Moyer
- Jack Whitehall
- Mark Owen
- Olly Murs
- Paddy McGuinness
- Jonathan Wilkes (captain)
- Jamie Theakston
- Ben Shephard
- John Bishop
- Marvin Humes
- Dominic Cooper
- Matt Smith (withdrawn injured)
- Jamie Redknapp
- Jamie Carragher
- Des Walker
- David Seaman
- Teddy Sheringham (withdrawn injured)
- Matt Le Tissier
- Kevin Phillips (replacement for Sheringham)
- Manager: Sam Allardyce
- Assistant manager: Robbie Williams (injured)
- Coach: Peter Reid
- Coach: Bradley Walsh
Rest of the World squad
- Michael Sheen (captain)
- James McAvoy
- Gordon Ramsay
- Kevin Bridges
- Nicky Byrne
- Patrick Kielty
- Adam Richman
- Jeremy Renner
- Santiago Cabrera
- Sam Worthington
- Mark Salling
- Martin Compston
- Edwin van der Sar
- Jaap Stam
- Edgar Davids
- Alessandro Del Piero
- Clarence Seedorf
- Andriy Shevchenko
- Manager: José Mourinho
- Assistant manager: Rui Faria
- Coach: José Morais
- Coach: Vic Bettinelli
The match
Soccer Aid 2016
The 2016 match was played at Old Trafford on Sunday, 5 June. The main match was hosted by Dermot O'Leary and Kirsty Gallacher, with commentary from Clive Tyldesley and Chris Kamara.
England squad
- Louis Tomlinson
- Olly Murs
- Paddy McGuinness
- Damian Lewis
- Ben Shephard
- Jonathan Wilkes (Captain)
- Jack Whitehall
- Jamie Theakston (Goalkeeper)
- John Bishop
- Mark Wright
- Marvin Humes
- Danny Jones (Withdrawn due to injury)
- Jamie Carragher
- Robbie Fowler
- Phil Neville
- Sol Campbell
- Jermain Defoe
- Danny Murphy
- Kieron Dyer
- David Seaman (Goalkeeper)
- Manager: Sam Allardyce and José Mourinho
- Assistant manager: Robbie Williams (Player-assistant manager)
- Coach: Bradley Walsh
Rest of the World squad
- Gordon Ramsay (Withdrawn due to injury)
- Nicky Byrne
- Niall Horan
- Serge Pizzorno
- AP McCoy
- Michael Sheen (Captain)
- Matthew Morrison
- Shayne Ward
- Iwan Rheon
- Sean Fletcher
- Thom Evans
- Rickie Haywood Williams
- Patrick Kielty (Goalkeeper)
- Gareth Thomas (Replacement for Gordon Ramsay)
- Ronaldinho
- Cafu
- Jaap Stam
- Fabio Cannavaro
- Dimitar Berbatov
- Edgar Davids
- Samuel Eto'o
- Dida (Goalkeeper)
- Manager: Claudio Ranieri
- Assistant Manager: Niall Horan (Player-assistant manager)
The match
Soccer Aid 2018
Top goalscorers
3 goals
- Sheringham
- Wilkes
- Seedorf
2 goals
- Shearer
- Di Canio
- Redknapp
- Phillips
- Berbatov
- Defoe
1 goal
- Ferdinand
- Maradona
- Pizzorno
- Marini
- Calzaghe
- Hyypiä
- Byrne
- Wright
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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