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Soccer Aid for Unicef raises over £6.7 million on the night for children in danger

On Sunday 16 June, Soccer Aid for Unicef 2019 was broadcast live and exclusively on ITV and STV. Watched by nearly 4 million viewers, £6,774,764 was raised on the night – over £1m more than 2018’s on the night total, and there is still more to come, as we await the totals from corporate partners and local fundraising too – for Unicef’s vital work keeping children around the world happy, healthy and safe to play.

This amount was raised thanks to the generous support of the UK public, ITV and STV viewers, and the UK government who have matched all donations so far up to £3 million, doubling the difference made to children’s lives. This figure has smashed all previous records for money raised on the night.

The eagerly anticipated match took place in London for the first time in over a decade, packing out Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge Stadium with a whopping 39,836 in attendance. A star-studded lineup of football legends and celebrities battled it out on the pitch to defend children’s right to play.

Highlights of the match included F2 Freestyler, Jeremy Lynch, scoring a double in the first half – his second year in a row scoring for England. Usain Bolt scored the first goal for the Soccer Aid World XI just before half-time, followed by a dazzling half-time performance from Rita Ora. Kem Cetinay followed up with an equaliser in the 84th minute taking the game to a dramatic penalty shootout.

England’s Ben Shephard scored the first goal in the shoot-out but a miss from Mark Wright and a save from Nicky Byrne denying Lee Mack left England wanting. F2 Freestyler Billy Wingrove, Locksmith and Kem Cetinay all scored past England goalie David Harewood, securing victory for the Soccer Aid World XI.

The Soccer Aid World XI team were led to victory as they beat England 3-1 following a 2-2 draw in 90 minutes.

In support of the appeal, ITV commissioned special celebrity shows of The Chase and Celebrity Juice. Soccer Aid for Unicef also featured across daytime programming in the lead up to the main show, and afterwards.

Since the partnership between ITV and Unicef UK began in 2006, over £35million has been raised to support the vital work that Unicef carries out to help children in need all over the world.

See the Better Health and Giving Back pages of our Social Purpose strategy to find out more about what social causes we support and the difference we're making.