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Soccer Aid

Soccer Aid is an English annual charity event that has raised over £121 million in aid of UNICEF UK, through ticket sales and donations from the public. The televised event is an 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.

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. 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.

The ROW/World XI team narrowly leads the head-to-head, with eight wins to the England team's six.

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.

Soccer Aid 2006 was held between 22–27 May 2006, and broadcast in the UK on ITV.

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.

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