Launched in 2006 by Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes, Soccer Aid has so far raised over £90 million in aid of UNICEF UK through ticket sales and donations. It’s also led to many scenes straight out of a fever dream, like the lead guitarist from Kasabian chipping former England first choice keeper David Seaman before getting a pat on the back from his teammate Will Ferrell.

Dermot O’Leary and Alex Scott are returning to hosting duties, with Love Island’s witty narrator Iain Stirling joining broadcaster Sam Matterface in the commentary box. Scottish singer-songwriter Tom Walker will perform at half-time.

The players are still being added to the line-up, but here are the ones who’ve been announced so far. We’ve divided the players by teams: those hoping to win England their first Soccer Aid since 2018, and the World XI looking to keep their streak going.

World XI FC

Captain: Usain Bolt

After retiring from athletics in 2017, the 100m world record holder famously pursued his dream of becoming a professional footballer. It’s this passion for the game that has kept him coming back to Soccer Aid since 2018.

Eden Hazard

This will be the first time the Chelsea legend has played at the stadium since he left for Real Madrid in a £150 million transfer in 2019. The tricky winger has scored some of the greatest goals Stamford Bridge has seen, but we’ll see if he can weave his way through a topsy turvy line of B-list celebrities.

Celebrity Goalkeeper and Professional Goalkeeper: Tony Bellew and Petr Cech

Former WBC cruiserweight title-holding boxer Tony Bellew may not be as good in goal as Chelsea legend Petr Cech, but he’ll probably pull off a pretty good punching clearance.

Roberto Carlos

Perhaps the most attack-minded defender in the history of the game, Carlos has long spiced up Soccer Aid with his Brazilian flair. Like, say, lobbing fitness influencer Joe Wicks just because.

Martin Compston

Compston is best-known for fighting police corruption in the blockbuster BBC crime drama Line of Duty. But DI Arnott knows his OGs from OCGs: he’s been appearing regularly in Soccer Aid since 2014.

Maisie Adam

The “interestingly” haircutted Yorkshire comedian (her words) had a weekend to remember in last year’s game, getting married on the Saturday before winning World XI’s fifth Soccer Aid title on the Sunday. Will she make it six this year? Wins that is, not marriages.

Roman Kemp

The former Capital FM host and one half of the beloved Kemp father-son duo recently launched a podcast with dad Martin. But he’ll have to let his feet do the talking here.

Lee Mack

“I know nothing about football,” said Rob Brydon to fellow comedian Lee Mack in the run-up to 2021 Soccer Aid, “but you strike me as a guy with no ability.” However, after three consecutive years of missed penalties, Mack scored in open play to secure a win for the World XI, to the absolute joy of his teammates – and the absolute chagrin of Brydon.

Tommy Fury

Tommy Fury paused his fighting career to appear on the 2019 series of Love Island, which is where he met his fiancé Molly-Mae Hague. But the appearance also worked wonders for his professional life, boosting his profile and launching a massively lucrative side hustle of battering ‘YouTube boxers’. His performances in Soccer Aid have so far left a lot to be desired, though.

Patrice Evra

The former Manchester United and France captain is back in the World XI team, presumably because he “loves this game!”

Emmett J. Scanlan

An Irish actor who got his start in Hollyoaks before starring in multiple much loved gangster dramas, including Peaky Blinders, Kin and Gangs of London.  He’ll be hoping to play another blinder here.

Micheal Ward

Hackney-born actor Micheal Ward made his name in the Hackney-set gangland drama Top Boy. He was nominated for an RTS award for his performance in 2020.

Tion Wayne

The Nigerian-British rapper’s single ‘Body’ was the first UK drill song to chart at number 1.

Alessandro Del Piero

Del Piero is an Italian Serie A legend who was so technically gifted he was known less as his actual position of supporting-striker than as a fantasista (magician).

Michael Essien

The former Chelsea midfielder was a fan favourite and nicknamed ‘the train’ by his teammates for his inexhaustible engine. But he was also armed with a sledgehammer of a strike, and will always be remembered for that outside-of-the-foot rocket against Arsenal at the Bridge back in 2006.

John Obi Mikel

Another former Chelsea midfielder known for his versatility, he won multiple titles at the club including two Premier Leagues and a Champions League.

Diamond

Bodybuilder Livi Sheldon is one of the new Gladiators who’s been battling members of the public in the revived BBC gameshow. She calls herself Diamond because she’s “strong, unbreakable and made under pressure,” having been bullied as a child for being tall.Jason Manford

The comedian is returning to Soccer Aid and has been putting the miles in on the training pitch. “Another hour of footy,” he announced on X after a session, “and uninjured at the end of it! Which post-40 counts more than actually winning.”

Kaylyn Kyle

The former Canadian soccer player is back to pile on England’s misery after helping the World XI to their fifth straight win last year.

Theo Baker

Football vlogger Theo Baker won his place in the line-up by beating 10 fellow YouTubers in a football challenge. He’ll once again be playing against Miniminter after the two faced off in a YouTuber charity match last year.

Olga García

Olga García only retired from the game this year after a 21 year career which saw her win 12 titles at Barcelona.

Kheira Hamraoui

A French midfielder who has played for both Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino

A cruelly ironic twist of fate sees Mauricio Pochettino return to Stamford Bridge having just left Chelsea “by mutual consent” after a rocky first season managing the club.

Coach: Jesús Pérez

Pochettino’s loyal assistant coach Jesús Pérez will be joining him in the dugout. Together they’ve coached some of the world’s superclubs, including Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. But their return to Soccer Aid will see them continue what’s perhaps their biggest challenge to date: drawing a half-decent first touch out of Tommy Fury.

England

Captain: Jill Scott

Former Lioness midfielder Jill Scott helped bring football home in the Euro 2022 final as much by her swearing as her ball-winning. She’ll be captaining a new and impaired England here, whose players will be hoping they don’t get on the wrong side of her and receive a similar earful to Germany’s Sydney Lohmann.

Celebrity Goalkeeper, Professional Goalkeeper and Goalkeeping Coach: Paddy McGuinness, David James and David Seaman (respectively)

Can former first choice England keepers David James and David Seaman get a first choice performance from a comedian best known for coining a million and one catch phrases on Take Me Out?

Let the gloves… see the ball.

Jermain Defoe

The former England and Tottenham Hotspur striker is still the ninth-highest goalscorer in Premier League history, so he should prove an attacking threat.

Jack Wilshere

Wilshere will always be remembered for the night he dominated what was arguably Barcelona’s best ever midfield (of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets) at the tender age of 19. That was for Arsenal back in the last-16 of the 2011 Champions League.

Karen Carney MBE

In 2021 Karen Carney was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame, having won many club and individual honours. When she retired, she was the second most capped England player, but she has since been surpassed by her captain here, Jill Scott. She also talks a good game, now broadcasting for live football.

Gary Cahill

Gary Cahill was mid-table Bolton’s stalwart centre back for a good four years, before he made the jump to Chelsea in 2012 and started racking up the medals. He’ll be bolstering the defence here.

Tom Grennan

In 2023, What Ifs & Maybes became pop singer Tom Grennan’s second UK number one album. But in a previous life he was training to become a pro footballer, even turning out for Luton Town youth.

Erin Doherty

The actress was once a talented footballer who was scouted by Chelsea Women, but she says she reached an age when she had to choose between football and acting. She’s since starred as the young Princess Anne in the third and fourth seasons of The Crown, so it looks like she made the right choice, but she’ll probably still relish the opportunity to finally play at Stamford Bridge.

Sir Mo Farah

If you’re gonna have a box-to-box midfielder in your Soccer Aid team, it might as well be a four-time Olympic gold medallist and six-time World Champion long distance runner. 

Alex Brooker

Co-host of The Last Leg Alex Brooker became the first disabled player to play in Soccer Aid in 2022’s edition. “People have often said that me trying to defend against Eden Hazard is the duel football needs,” he said on Instagram, “so should be fun.”

Stuart Broad

Broad is widely regarded as one of England’s greatest Test cricket bowlers of all time. But since his retirement Broad has made some surprise appearances on Sky Sports’ Soccer Special. Many reckon that he's outshone the programme’s usual pundits, so he clearly knows his football.

Bobby Brazier

Brazier has strode the catwalk at Milan Fashion Week, stepped into acting for EastEnders, and danced all the way to the final of Strictly Come Dancing in 2023. Now he’s hoping to dance his way through the World XI defence in his Soccer Aid debut.

Sam Thompson

Also making his Soccer Aid debut at the home of Chelsea is a former star of another local institution. One of Made in Chelsea’s many socialites turned media personalities, Sam Thompson will be making a short journey over to Stamford Bridge to turn out for the England team.

Miniminter

One seventh of YouTube supergroup The Sidemen, Miniminter is often seen challenging pros in his videos. Now he’s taking them on at the Bridge.

Sam Quek

Former hockey player Sam Quek won gold for Team GB at the 2016 Summer Olympics, but she was also a talented footballer who was signed to Tranmere Rovers as a junior.

Steven Bartlett

The millionaire entrepreneur is Dragon’s Den’s youngest ever dragon and hosts the regular chart-topping podcast The Diary of a CEO. He’s admitted he “played terribly” in his first appearance in 2022, so he’ll be hoping to put that right for England this year.

Tom Hiddleston

He's back! @TWHiddleston pic.twitter.com/d7JEtAALXj

— Soccer Aid (@socceraid) June 4, 2024

The debonair star of The Night Manager and the MCU’s Loki Laufeyson made his Soccer Aid debut last year. His appearance left many fans of Loki asking: which variant of the God of Mischief is this?

Joe Cole

The former West Ham, Chelsea and England favourite is now a pundit on TNT Sports.

Theo Walcott

Walcott was so fast that he was deployed on the wing for most of his career, which saw him play for Arsenal and become the youngest ever capped for England. He might be the only one who’ll be able to keep up with Usain Bolt.

Eddie Hearn

A tireless sports promoter who counts among his clients one Anthony Joshua, who he has helped sell out Wembley Stadium twice. His tongue-in-cheek fighting talk has inspired a No Context Hearn parody X account, but it remains to be seen if he can put his money where his mouth is on the football pitch.

Ellen White

White started all six games and scored twice in England's Euro 2022 victory, before retiring at the top of her game the following month. The record goalscorer for the Lionesses will be back to spearhead England’s attack.

Danny Dyer

This is, surprisingly, the East End “hard-man’s” first appearance at Soccer Aid. Bar EastEnders, his most iconic role came in The Football Factory, where he starred as a member of a violent hooligan firm for, you guessed it, Chelsea FC. Filming for the sequel started this year, with the working title Marching Powder.

Co-Managers: Frank Lampard, Harry Redknapp, Robbie Williams and Vicky McClure

Another Chelsea legend returning to Stamford Bridge is Frank Lampard. He’s co-managing England with his uncle and former manager Harry Redknapp, who was once earmarked for the England job proper.

Vicky McClure returns to the England dugout in the hopes of beating her Line of Duty co-star Compston, while Soccer Aid founder Robbie Williams will also join them in the dugout, perhaps to sing them a team talk. I’ve got the gift, gonna stick it in the goal, it’s time to move your body!

Soccer Aid will air live on ITV, STV and ITVX on Sunday 9 June at 6.00pm.