Soccer Aid 2025 Comes Home to Manchester

Love it or hate it Soccer Aid 2025 took place on Sunday June 15th in Manchester at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, and raised over £15 million for UNICEF’s work supporting children across the globe. The only mixed-sex football match officially sanctioned by the English FA, this article will explore the history of the event, look at what happened in this year’s closely fought game and consider whether Manchester’s claim to be the home of Soccer Aid is a valid one.

What Is Soccer Aid?

Founded in 2006 Soccer Aid is an annual charity event that has raised over £120 million for UNICEF UK. Billed as the world’s biggest celebrity football match a team of celebrities and former professional footballers from England take on the Soccer Aid World XI FC in an exhibition-style game. This allows many celebrities to fulfil their childhood dreams of playing football in front of a packed-out stadium in addition to raising money to support the valuable work of UNICEF.

Unsurprisingly the footballing abilities of the celebrities playing in this match can vary wildly but it’s clear to see that they all enjoy the experience and many come back year after year. Some genuine A-listers from across the globe have featured for both teams over the years including Mike Myers, Woody Harrelson and Will Ferrell in addition to top stars from the world of football such as Diego Maradona, Wayne Rooney and Zinedine Zidane.

What Happened in Soccer Aid 2025?

World XI grab their EIGHTH Soccer Aid victory and lead England by two. Champions again, was it ever in doubt? 👀@Primark | @EASFCMOBILE | @adidasUK | @tomdotcodotuk | @SuzukiCarsUK pic.twitter.com/dv9Kgl8ly3

— Soccer Aid (@socceraid) June 15, 2025

In a thrilling match the Soccer Aid World XI narrowly came out on top beating England 5-4 with Big Zuu the musician, DJ and television presenter scoring the winner with only six minutes left on the clock. Former Argentinian professional footballer Carlos Tevez, who played for both Manchester City and Manchester United during his illustrious playing career, reminded the local crowd of his footballing prowess by scoring four goals to get the World XI back in the match. This came after his former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney scored the fastest goal in Soccer Aid history just four minutes into the game.

Is Manchester the Home of Soccer Aid?

Manchester is a proud footballing city, not only as the home of English Premier League teams Manchester City and Manchester United, but also as the location of England’s National Football Museum which opened in the centre of Manchester in 2012. The museum houses the English Football Hall of Fame in addition to a huge collection of football memorabilia from around the world including the match shirt worn by Maradona when he scored his infamous “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup and the world’s oldest women’s football kit which dates from the 1890s.

2006 Old Trafford

The first Soccer Aid was played in Manchester at Old Trafford in front of a crowd of almost 71,960 in 2006. England beat the Rest of the World (as the Soccer Aid World XI used to be known until 2018) 2-1 with goals from the former professional footballer Les Ferdinand and Jonathan Wilkes, a celebrity who was heavily involved in setting up the competition with his close friend Robbie Williams. Maradona scored the only goal for the Rest of the World but even his legendary footballing abilities weren’t enough for them to come out on top.

2008 Wembley

Initially the event was held every two years before moving to being played annually. The next Soccer Aid event was in 2008 and moved to Wembley Stadium, England’s national stadium in London, where the attendance was only 45,000 even though England were again victorious 4-3.

Back to Manchester

Realising the error of their ways Soccer Aid was moved back up north to Manchester for the following five competitions, all held at Old Trafford with crowds of over 65,000 every time. Of these five games England won three of them but the Rest of the World began to find their feet and won two, their first victory coming via a tense penalty shoot-out in the 2010 event where they eventually came out on top by winning seven penalties to six.

2019 Stamford Bridge

The 2019 Soccer Aid was again moved down to London to Stamford Bridge, the home of English Premier League team Chelsea. Crowds were lower than when the event was held in Manchester and less than 40,000 people saw England win on penalties. The 2019 match was notable for being the first year that females were allowed to play and also for the film star Tom Hanks blowing the whistle to start the first half rather than the referee Mark Clattenburg.

2020 Old Trafford

Soccer Aid 2020 was moved back to Old Trafford and was originally scheduled to be played on June 6th that year but due to the outbreak of COVID-19 the game was postponed until September 6th 2020 and as with all football during the pandemic fans were not allowed in the stadium so the match was played behind closed doors. This was a shame for Soccer Aid’s loyal Manchester fanbase as they missed another nail-biting penalty shoot-out which was eventually won by the World XI 4-3.

2021 City of Manchester Stadium

The 2021 competition saw a new venue for Soccer Aid, albeit still in Manchester. This was the first and only year that the competition was held at the City of Manchester Stadium, home of Manchester United’s bitter local rival Manchester City. The Soccer Aid World XI came out on top with a convincing 3-0 victory which is perhaps why that venue wasn’t chosen again! The notable goal scorer in that match was the comedian and television presenter Lee Mack, who scored in the 90th minute for World XI after switching teams from England due to his Irish heritage.

2022 London Stadium

In 2022 another new venue was selected for the event and 54,000 people saw the World XI again victorious on penalties at the London Stadium, which was the stadium built for the London 2012 Olympics and is now home of English Premier League team West Ham United. Soccer Aid 2023 saw 74,000 people watch the World XI again win at Old Trafford before a crowd of 40,000 saw England finally manage a victory at Stamford Bridge in 2024.

2025 Old Trafford

Soccer Aid has been played in Manchester for 10 out of its 14 years and with a crowd of 74,000 at the 2025 event it would be fair to say that Soccer Aid is an event that Manchester has embraced with gusto and can rightfully claim to be its home.