Soccer Aid

*Soccer Aid*
Soccer Aid
	File:SoccerAid.gif
Created by	?
Starring	Ant and Dec
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Production
Running time	30 to 90 minutes
Original release
Network	ITV1
Release	2006 –; Present

Soccer Aid is a British charity event to be held on 27 May 2006. The event is a football match between two teams comprising celebrities and World Cup legends, one representing England and the other the Rest of the World. All money raised goes to UNICEF. Television coverage began on ITV1 on 22 May 2006 in a show presented by Ant and Dec. Tickets for the event are now sold out.

Event schedule

22 May 2006 – Start of the television coverage. Rest of the World defeat England in a Penalty Shoot-out.
23 May 2006 – Practice match: England 1-0 England legends (Craven Cottage Stadium, London)
24 May 2006 – Practice match: Rest of the World 3-7 Scotland legends (Craven Cottage Stadium, London)
25 May 2006 – Rest of the World defeat England in a Football Quiz.
26 May 2006 – -
27 May 2006 – Soccer Aid Match: England v Rest of the World (Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester)

The Practice matches were over 60 minutes.

The Soccer Aid match will be over 90 minutes.

There are currently no plans for the tournament to become an annual event; however there has been a recent increase in the number of charity/legends games, and a more formalised system of fixture, similar to that of the Masters indoor soccer, may be introduced.

The competition is organised on behalf of UNICEF, with profits from the matches along with donations and sponsorship donated to UNICEF programs in Africa, Asia and the Americas.

According to the BBC News Online website, Old Trafford are expecting a record crowd for the match, due to the fact that because of the nature of the game there is no need for crowd segregation.[1]

England squad

The England squad is managed by former England national football team manager Terry Venables. He is assisted by Ted Buxton. The original squad comprised of 16 players, which has since had Bryan Robson added. A handful of the players, notably Angus Deayton, have previous celebrity international experience from last months England v Germany: The Legends match in Reading, which Germany won 4-2. The England squad has been in training for the past 10 days, and currently have no major injury worries ahead of the match. Their victory over a squad of ex-England internationals from the 1960s to 1990s on Tuesday morning has been tempered with defeats to the Rest of the World in a Penalty shootout and Football Quiz. During the England Soccer Aid v England Legends match, Grame Le Saux appeared for Soccer Aid, but will not appear on Saturday.

Celebrities

Legends

Rest of the World squad

Rest of the World squad is managed by Ruud Gullit, with Gus Poyet as his assistant. Captain Gordon Ramsay injured his leg in the early training sessions and may not feature in the match. The original squad of 16 players, which has since seen 2 changes, was supplemented by the addition of Diego Maradona during the build up to the competition. Lothar Matthaus appeared in the England v Germany: The Legends match last month. The Rest of the World squad has been wracked by injuries and withdrawals, and has suffered from a lack of players. Desailly, Matthaus, 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. Current squad members Craig Doyle and Brian McFadden are also carrying knocks, which led to management members Ruud Gullit and Gus Poyet coming on as substitues on Wednesday. Further problems include (1) striker Diego Maradona has yet to join the squad, with 1 day left and (2) Patrick Kielty has so far proved a worrying ineptitude in goal.