More about Soccer Aid

Soccer Aid brought together World Cup football legends and major celebrities for one week of football at the end of May 2006. Broadcast on ITV1 and ITV2, the legends and celebrities trained, played and competed for places in two final teams: “England” and “The Rest of the World”. The teams then battled it out for the Soccer Aid title in a Grand Final at Old Trafford on May 27 – and raised £2.6 million for UNICEF’s work in the process.

UNICEF UK Ambassador – and the catalyst for Soccer Aid – Robbie Williams led out “England” as their captain, whilst chef Gordon Ramsay captained “The Rest of the World”. Former England manager Terry Venables managed the home side while football legend Ruud Gullit managed “The Rest of the World”. Gianfranco Zola and Marcel Desailly also joined the line-up for the star-packed show.

Talking of his personal motivaton for launching Soccer Aid, Robbie Williams said, “I have been an Ambassador for UNICEF since 2000 and some of the best moments of my life have been spent with children in Mozambique, Sri Lanka and South Africa. During my last UNICEF trip, I met so many kids who gave me reason to smile. Now, through UNICEF, its partners and Soccer Aid, I want to be able to give them something to smile about too.”

The big match – played on the famous turf of Old Trafford in front of a capacity crowd and broadcast live on ITV – saw the culmination of all this hard work and fulfilled Robbie Williams’ ambition of combining fun and great television viewing with fundraising for UNICEF. The event raised £2.6 million for UNICEF’s work and has already begun to change the lives of thousands of the world’s poorest children.