Soccer Aid 2026 will mark the charity match’s 20th anniversary on Sunday, May 31, when the game returns to London Stadium in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. Kick-off is set for 6.30pm British Summer Time.
The line-up already has enough star power to turn the anniversary into a major TV event. Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Jill Scott and Jack Wilshere are named in the England squad, while Tom Hiddleston and Danny Dyer will join the Celebs side. Angry Ginge, Jack Whitehall, Sam Thompson and Olly Murs are also listed, Owen Cooper will make his Soccer Aid debut and become the youngest player ever to take part, and Joe Marler is set for his first appearance in goal.
Soccer Aid has been running since 2006, and 2026 is the first time the event reaches two decades. It began as a biennial fundraiser before becoming annual in 2018, and ITV will mark the anniversary with special programming in the run-up to the weekend. The main event will air on ITV1, ITVX, STV and the STV Player from 5pm to 9pm on Sunday, May 31, with coverage also available on ITV’s YouTube channel.
That anniversary matters because Soccer Aid is more than a celebrity exhibition. It is a yearly fundraiser for global children’s charity Unicef, with money raised to help children grow up safe and healthy. Over the years, the event has brought in millions and backed children through football, which is why each new edition is treated less like a novelty and more like a fixture.
The one thing that will shape this year’s edition is the mix of old names and first-timers. Rooney, Defoe, Scott and Wilshere bring the football pedigree. Hiddleston, Dyer and the rest add the entertainment pull. But Cooper’s debut stands out most of all because it gives the anniversary match a new face as it steps into its third decade. For readers tracking the England side, the full squad details are also set out in the latest team announcement, while Robbie Williams’ halftime-show return is being flagged separately as part of the build-up to Soccer Aid 2026.
What happens next is simple: the build-up will intensify, ITV will keep rolling out anniversary programming, and the final appeal will land on a packed Sunday night audience. By the time the whistle goes at London Stadium, Soccer Aid 2026 will not just be another celebrity football match. It will be a marker of how a once-off idea from 2006 became one of charity sport’s most durable annual events.
