Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2021 Hits Goals in More than One Way

In 2021, Soccer Aid for UNICEF has raised a stunning £13,014,769! It is the most ever raised for Soccer Aid since the initiative was first created back in 2006 by Robbie Willams.

The money will be put towards UNICEF’s wonderful work worldwide, helping young children get the childhoods they so rightly deserve.

The charity football match between an England all-star team made up of celebrities, and soccer legends and rest-of-the-world team of former soccer greats and celebs from sport and screen was first held at Old Trafford, Manchester United’s home ground, in front of a crowd of 70,000 spectators.

This year’s game took place at the Etihad, home of Manchester City. Celebs in the England squad included Aitch, Chunz, James Arthur, Mo Farah, and Olly Murs, while the soccer legends included Wayne Rooney, Jamie Callagher and Joe Cole. Paul Scholes was also in the squad, the ex-Manchester United midfielder who was named in Sportingbet’s 11 greatest Premier League players of all time.

The rest-of-the-world squad’s celebs included Big Zuzu, Dermot Kennedy, Usain Bolt, and Lee Mack, scorer of one of the goals that saw the ROW team beat England by 3-0. The other two goals were scored by Kem Ketinay, the TV reality star who shot to fame in Love Island in 2017.

The ROW squad also included legends like Clarence Seedorf, who played for Ajax, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, and Roberto Carlos, the Brazilian full-back who scored that amazing goal from a free-kick against France back in 1997.

Alex Scott, the former England national ladies team striker, who, since taking part in Strictly Come Dancing has since achieved super celebrity status, took her place as a pitch-side reporter and pundit.

Last year, the match took place at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over a year later, the Coronavirus continues to decimate children’s lives around the world. It is the worst global crisis since World War Two, and it puts young lives at more risk than ever before. It is responsible for school closures and healthcare services being overwhelmed. The disruption to the supply of medicines and food supplies has pushed millions of children into hunger.

Soccer Aid for UNICEF aims to help by delivering 2 billion vaccines to frontline health workers worldwide. The money raised by this year’s game is a significant contributor to that goal. Well done, and thank you to all who have contributed.