Soccer Aid raises record £15.6 million for UNICEF
Howard Lake | 13 June 2022 | News
Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2022, broadcast live yesterday evening on ITV and STV, has raised a record-breaking £15,673,728 so far for UNICEF’s work with children.
The match, held at the London Stadium, sold out with 54,410 fans at the game.
Once again the Soccer Aid World XI took on the England team. Liam Payne captained England, and Usain Bolt handed over captaincy to Ukrainian football manager, Andriy Shevchenko.
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England was co-managed by actor Vicky McClure and football greats Harry Redknapp, David Seaman and Emma Hayes, with the Soccer Aid I co-managed by Idris Elba, manager Arsène Wenger and Soccer Aid for UNICEF stalwart Robbie Keane.
The Soccer Aid World X1 won 4-1 on penalties. The team is now in the overall lead with six wins against five since the inaugural 2006 match.
Mixed gender match
Soccer Aid‘s match is the only official FA-sanctioned mixed gender match. Fara Williams returned for England, and Chelcee Grimes returned for the Soccer Aid World XI FC. Eni Aluko, Anita Asante, Heather O’Reilly and Carli Lloyd all made their Soccer Aid for UNICEF debuts.
Alex Brooker, who became the first disabled player to take part in a Soccer Aid for UNICEF match, made his debut, playing for the first 15 minutes, before jokingly offering to come back on as goalkeeper.
Record amount
Last year’s Soccer Aid raised £13 million, a record total at that point. So far the events have raised over £75 million.
This year’s increased record-breaking amount was raised thanks to donations from the UK public, ITV and STV viewers (the match broadcast featured clear call to give messages on-screen). In addition, The Power of Nutrition matched donations up to £4 million.
This record-breaking amount was raised thanks to the generous support of the UK public, ITV and STV viewers, and The Power of Nutrition who have matched donations up to £4 million, meaning double the difference for children. This figure has smashed last year’s record total for money raised on the night.
The teams
Players for the Soccer Aid World XI squad were:
- Damian Lewis CBE
- Sir Mo Farah
- Martin Compston
- Lee Mack
- David Harewood
- Tom Grennan
- Noah Beck
- Steven Bartlett
- Chunkz
- Mark Wright
- Aitch
- Mo Gilligan
- Russell Howard
- Munya Chawawa
- Tom Stoltman
- Mark Strong
- Kem Cetinay.
The England team consisted of:
- David James
- Gary Neville
- Jamie Carragher
- Stewart Downing
- Joe Cole
- Teddy Sheringham
- Mark Noble
- Petr Cech
- Roberto Carlos
- Patrice Evra
- Cafu
- Andrea Pirlo
- Andriy Shevchenko.
The live broadcast was presented by UNICEF UK Ambassador, Dermot O’Leary and pitch-side reporter Alex Scott, who recently returned from Namibia where she saw UNICEF’s work first-hand. Maya Jama was back in the pundit seat, joined by Jermaine Jenas.
Thank yous
The ‘Appreciation Station’ returned to the stadium this year with UNICEF UK Ambassador James Nesbitt and famous faces including Barney Walsh, Peter Andre, Rachel Stephens and Dafne Keen offering their thanks to ITV viewers making donations throughout the night.
Appeal films
Throughout the ITV show, short appeal films were presented by UNICEF UK Ambassadors David Harewood, Ewan McGregor, Eddie Izzard, and supporters Alex Scott, Damian Lewis and Vicky McClure highlighted where the vital money raised by Soccer Aid for UNICEF goes.
Damian Lewis’ half-time appeal film focused on the current war in Ukraine from the Romanian border, where UNICEF is supporting children affected by the war and making sure they get what they need to be safe and secure and can rediscover the joy of a childhood full of play.
Robbie Williams, Soccer Aid for UNICEF co-founder and UNICEF UK Ambassador said:
“Wow, tonight was absolutely incredible. Performing Angels in front of the Soccer Aid crowd at London Stadium was such a memorable moment I will never forget. What an amazing achievement to have raised a record-breaking £15.6 million for UNICEF to support children around the world this year, I can’t believe that we smashed the £13 million we raised last year. It’s money that will make such a huge difference to the lives of children that need it the most, wherever they are in the world, so thank you to everyone that donated.”
- Soccer Aid raises over £2m for UNICEF (31 May 2006)
- Unicef UK launches its first domestic emergency response programme (17 August 2020)
- Volunteering hub opens to link football fans with club opportunities (20 May 2022)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.