Soccer Aid has raised an eye-watering and record-breaking amount of money for Unicef with their annual charity match that saw the likes of Joe Marler and Angry Ginge compete
Joe Marler and Angry Ginge at Soccer Aid(Image: Shutterstock)
Soccer Aid have raised a huge sum of money for Unicef. The annual charity football match raised a staggering £16.5million for the children’s aid organisation.
The match, which was created by Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes in 2026, aims to raise millions for Unicef every year but has never raised as much as it did this year. By raising over £16m, the celebs taking part have increased the total ever raised from the event to £137million.
The grand total was revealed in the last few moments before Soccer Aid went off air, in an announcement made by Robbie, who also performed his song Feel for the halftime performance.
Over £1million of the total amount was raised by Olly Murs. The singer had taken on a mammoth challenge that involved cycling, rowing and running the 400km distance from Old Trafford to the London Stadium. Prior to the match beginning, Tom Hiddlestone revealed on air that Olly had raised £1,342,214 for the total pot.
The rest of the funds were raised throughout the event, including the build up to kick off. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen came out to the pitch to deliver the football and revealed that before play had even begun, the event had raised over £4.6million. Tim delighted fans as he said his Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear’s catchphrase: “To infinity and beyond!”
Roughly 15 minutes before the teams headed out, GK Barry caught up with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen with the latter catching many off guard courtesy of his comments.
While stood in the tunnel, upon GK Barry asking for their attention, the latter stated: “I’m just just b****ing about penalty shots.” The comment went unacknowledged by ITV, despite airing pre-watershed.
As Americans, the pair aren’t used to European football. Tim continued to say he was going to “try to work out how you win or lose a game on a penalty shot”. Tom, who said he did have some knowledge of the UK game, jokingly hit back: “You cannot use your hands.”
Soccer Aid celebrated its 20th anniversary this weekend with a massive showdown at the London Stadium. The fixture occurs every year and its mission is to raise vital funds for UNICEF while bringing together a unique mix of world-class football legends and beloved celebrities.
Former United captain Wayne Rooney led the line for England. Big football names taking to the pitch included Jill Scott, Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott.
Other huge names making up the England side were Tom Hiddleston, Danny Dyer, Paddy McGuinness, Olly Murs and Joe Marler. They were joined by Toni Duggan, Steph Houghton, Jordan North, Angry Ginge, GK Barry, Jack Wilshere, Joe Hart, Sam Thompson, Chloe Burrows, Jack Whitehall and Owen Cooper.
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