Who Will Play In Soccer Aid 2025?
By
14 hours ago
Wayne Rooney and Tyson Fury are this year's England managers – but who is on their team, and who will they be up against?
Soccer Aid is set to return to Old Trafford for another year of money-raising football goodness this summer, pitting British Celebrities and Legends head to head with their counterparts from the rest of the world on 15 June 2025. Having raised a whopping £15 million for Unicef last year (a new record), here’s everything we know so far about the 2025 edition.
Soccer Aid 2025: Teams, Stars, Dates, Tickets & More
View this post on Instagram
Who Is On The England Squad?
As always, a batch of celebrities and football legends from across England will join forces in the home squad, with a team of managers and coaches cheering them on from the sidelines.
‘Football legend’ hardly comes close to describing one player: Wayne Rooney will come out of retirement to play in Soccer Aid 2025, also coaching alongside former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, former goalie David James, actor Vicky McClure and legendary manager Harry Redknapp.
The full line-up of players is as follows:
Celebrities
- Paddy McGuinness (comedian)
- Louis Tomlinson (One Direction star)
- Steven Bartlett (Diary of a CEO)
- Alex Brooker (TV presenter)
- Mo Farah (Olympian)
- Angryginge (YouTuber)
- Tom Grennan (singer)
- Sam Thompson (TV personality)
- Sam Quek (hockey champion turned TV personality)
Legends
- Joe Hart
- Steph Houghton
- Gary Neville
- Toni Duggan
- Paul Scholes
- Jill Scott
- Wayne Rooney
- Jermain Defoe
Who Is On The World XI Squad?
Over on the rest of the world’s side, the full squad is still TBD, but the following stars are reportedly on the bill:
Celebrities
- Lee Mack (comedian)
- Livi Sheldon/Diamond (Gladiators)
- Gorka Marquez (Strictly Come Dancing)
Legends
- Leonardo Bonucci
- Nadia Nadim
Is Robbie Williams Involved?
It’s a fallow year for Robbie Williams, the popstar who masterminded Soccer Aid back in 2006 with Jonathan Wilkes. In 2024, Robbie coached the England squad to victory, but he hasn’t actually played in the match since 2017. He was supposed to play in 2018, but the popstar had to withdraw due to injury.
A Brief History Of Soccer Aid
Soccer Aid was founded in 2006 by British singer Robbie Williams alongside TV presenter and singer Jonathan Wilkes. It took place every two years, but has been held annually since 2018. With every match being televised and garnering a huge in-person crowd, Soccer Aid has become the world’s largest celebrity football match – and it’s all hosted to raise money for Unicef.
Women first played in Soccer Aid in 2019, with Katie Chapman and Rachel Yankey playing for England and Brazilian footballers Rosana and Francielle joining the World XI squad. It wasn’t until Soccer Aid 2024, however, that a woman scored a goal: English former professional footballer Ellen White broke the drought, solidifying her reputation as England women’s record goal scorer.
In 2020, despite Covid restrictions, Soccer Aid still took place, just without an in-person crowd. The match was still televised.
EXPLORE
Soccer Aid returns to Old Trafford on 15 June 2025. Kick off is 7.30pm. Tickets are on sale now, starting from £20pp, at socceraid.org.uk
