Soccer Aid is coming home

Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2026 will be held at the London Stadium on Sunday, 31 May, with doors open at 16:30 and kick-off at 18:30. Tickets are already on sale from £10 for under-16s and around £20 for adults.

The charity match - England XI vs Soccer Aid World XI, mixing celebrities with football legends - has been running since 2006 and has raised over £121 million for UNICEF. This year marks its 20th anniversary.

The lineup announced so far includes Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Jill Scott and Joe Marler for England, managed by Robbie Williams. The World XI is coached by Usain Bolt - who won three gold medals at this same stadium in 2012 - and includes Jordi Alba, Leonardo Bonucci, Big Zuu and Damson Idris. Owen Cooper, the Adolescence star, is set to be the youngest player in Soccer Aid history.

It'll be broadcast live and free on ITV.

Worth noting if you're going with kids

The London Stadium is one of the easier big venues to do with children. It's flat, well-signed, and well-connected — Stratford station is a short walk away and served by the Underground, Overground, Elizabeth line and National Rail. No driving required, no complicated park-and-ride. Under-16 tickets at £10 make this one of the most accessible major events you'll find in London this year.

Kick-off is at 18:30, with doors open from 16:30 - an earlier start than most Soccer Aid events, which means you're not rolling home at midnight with tired kids. A fan zone opens before kick-off for ticket holders, and a special half-time show is planned for the anniversary edition.

The full-circle bit

Usain Bolt said: "Everyone knows my record at the London Stadium. See you in May, Robbie."

He's not wrong. The track where he won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay in 2012 sits in a stadium that now hosts West Ham - and is surrounded by East Village, the neighbourhood built from the athletes' accommodation those same Games produced. The homes your neighbours live in were designed to house the competitors. The park outside your door was the Olympic Park.

Soccer Aid coming here, in its 20th year, with Bolt back in the building - it's a decent bit of symmetry.

Tickets are available at socceraid.org.uk. Buy early; it's expected to sell out.