Soccer Aid

2006 Soccer Aid
Tournament details
Host country	England
Dates	22 May – 27 May
Venue(s)	2
Final positions
Champions	England (1st title)
Runners-up	Rest of the World
Tournament statistics
Matches played	4
Goals scored	14 (3.5 per match)
Attendance	71,960 (17,990 per match)

Soccer Aid
Founded	2006
Number of teams	2
Current champions	World XI (7th title)
Most successful club(s)	World XI
Television broadcasters	ITV; Virgin Media Sport Ireland

*Soccer Aid*
Soccer Aid
Genre	Charity event
Created by	Robbie Williams; Jonathan Wilkes
Presented by	Ant & Dec (2006–08); Dermot O'Leary (2010–present); Kirsty Gallacher (2010–2020); Alex Scott (2021–present); Backstage:; Cat Deeley (2012–14); Regular Pundit:; Maya Jama (2020–2022); Extra Time:; Jermaine Jenas (2023); Joelah Noble (2023)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	11
No. of episodes	16
Production
Production locations	Old Trafford, Greater Manchester (2006, 2010–18, 2020, 2023); Wembley Stadium, London (2008); Stamford Bridge, Fulham, London (2019) ; Etihad Stadium, Manchester (2021); London Stadium (2022)
Running time	210–220 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production company	Initial
Original release
Network	ITV; Virgin Media Sport
Release	22 May 2006 –; present

Soccer Aid is a British annual charity event that has raised over £38 million in aid of UNICEF UK, through ticket sales and donations from the public. The televised event is a exhibition-style football match between two teams, England and the Soccer Aid World XI (formerly Rest of the World (ROW) until 2018), composed of celebrities and former professional players representing their countries. It is the only mixed-sex match officially sanctioned by The Football Association.^[1]

Soccer Aid was initiated in 2006 by Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes. It initially took place every two years, but since the 2018 edition it is now held annually. The television broadcast is produced by Initial and distributed by Endemol Shine Sport, a Dutch company that distributes Dutch Eredivisie coverage.^[2] 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.

Event details

The ROW/World XI team is currently winning the head-to-head, with 7 wins to the England team's 5.

On 16 June 2019, the fixture was the first to include female players as part of the squads. In 2020, the match was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Edition	Year	Winners	Score	Runners–up	Venue	Attendance
1	2006	England	2–1	Rest of The World	Old Trafford, Manchester	71,960
2	2008	England (2)	4–3	Rest of The World	Wembley Stadium, London	45,000
3	2010	Rest of The World	2–2 (7–6 p)	England	Old Trafford, Manchester	65,493
4	2012	England (3)	3–1	Rest of The World		67,346
5	2014	Rest of The World (2)	4–2	England		65,574
6	2016	England (4)	3–2	Rest of The World		70,000
7	2018	England (5)	3–3 (4–3 p)	World XI		71,965
8	2019	World XI (3)	2–2 (3–1 p)	England	Stamford Bridge, London	39,836
9	2020	World XI (4)	1–1 (4–3 p)	England	Old Trafford, Manchester	0^{[lower-alpha 1]}
10	2021	World XI (5)	3–0	England	Etihad Stadium, Manchester	51,674
11	2022	World XI (6)	2–2 (4–1 p)	England	London Stadium, London	54,410
12	2023	World XI (7)	4–2	England	Old Trafford, Manchester	TBA

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 played over 60 minutes, with the Soccer Aid match played 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. Goals from Les Ferdinand and Jonathan Wilkes 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

Legends

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 build-up 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

Other notable participants
The match was refereed by Pierluigi Collina, the Italian referee considered by many fans as the best referee of all time.^[3]

The match

27 May 2006

19:45 BST

England	2–1	Rest of the World
Ferdinand 14' Wilkes 20'	Report	Maradona 75' (pen.)

Old Trafford, Manchester

Attendance: 71,960

Referee: Pierluigi Collina


GK	David Seaman	45'
	David Gray
	Tony Adams
	Ben Shephard
	Robbie Williams (c)	85'
	Damian Lewis
	Paul Gascoigne	55'
	Jonathan Wilkes
	Bradley Walsh	55'
	Les Ferdinand	52'
	Dean Lennox Kelly	64'
Substitutes:
GK	Jamie Theakston	45'
	John Barnes	85'
	Graeme Le Saux	55'
	Jamie Redknapp	55'
	Angus Deayton	52'
	Bryan Robson	64'
Manager:
Terry Venables


GK	Peter Schmeichel	45'
	Craig Doyle	45'
	Marcel Desailly
	Lothar Matthäus	45'
	Michael Greco
	Brian McFadden	8'
	Alastair Campbell	45'
	Alessandro Nivola
	Sergei Fedorov
	Gordon Ramsay	11'
	Diego Maradona
Substitutes:
GK	Patrick Kielty	45'
	Ben Johnson	45'
	Dunga	45'	73'
	Gareth Thomas	8'
	David Ginola	45'	55'
	Ruud Gullit	55'
	Gianfranco Zola	11'
	Gus Poyet	73'
Manager:
Ruud Gullit