One of the biggest sports livestreaming events of the year, and undoubtedly the largest football match hosted by streamers in 2025, wrapped up last Saturday at London’s Wembley Stadium. The UK-based Sidemen, one of the most popular streamer collectives, once again faced off against YouTube stars, drawing over 2,758,151 concurrent viewers. While the viewership fell short of Sidemen’s all-time record, it did surpass the numbers from 2023. But the real highlights? The team managed to collect a record-breaking £4.7 million for charity, and Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. finally scored his long-awaited goal!
The Sidemen have been hosting charity matches since 2016, but their 2025 event was the biggest and most impactful yet. Tickets sold out in just three hours, and Wembley Stadium, the UK’s largest, welcomed an astonishing 90,000 spectators. On top of that, the event raised a record-breaking £4.7 million, which will be donated to BBC’s Children in Need, Sidemen’s Bright Side, and M7 Education. A truly remarkable achievement!
The match itself was arguably the most thrilling in the series' history. It brought together some of the biggest names in livestreaming from the UK, the US, and beyond. Alongside the Sidemen stars, the roster featured Félix “xQc” Lengyel, Logan Paul, Kai Cenat, Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson, and many more. And, of course, IShowSpeed was there, finally finding the back of the net, even if it was from the penalty spot.
The game ended in a chaotic 9:9 draw, with the Sidemen equalizing just a minute before the final whistle. That meant everything came down to a penalty shootout, where the YouTube stars claimed victory. And in a perfect crowd-pleasing moment, it was none other than IShowSpeed who buried the winning penalty, his second of the match.
When it comes to viewership, the event maintained almost identical live audience figures for the third year in a row, with only minor variations. While it fell just short of the total viewership from the 2022 edition, it slightly outperformed 2023. Throughout the match, viewership held steady at around 1.7 million, with the expected peak coming during the decisive penalty scored by IShowSpeed.
As usual, the overwhelming majority of viewers (~92%) tuned in via the official Sidemen YouTube channel, while the rest came from watch parties hosted by top streamers, mainly on Twitch, though some co-streams were also broadcast on YouTube and Kick. Several creators pulled similar peak viewership numbers, but the biggest audiences were drawn by Nick “Nmplol” Polom, Alexander "Adapt" Pinkevich, and Matthew “Mizkif” Rinaudo.
Show matches featuring content creators have become a global trend, but the Sidemen continue to set the bar with the largest audiences. In fact, three of the five most-viewed football games by streamers are Sidemen events. Their 2022 charity match even earned a Guinness World Record as the most popular charity football game ever streamed on YouTube. This milestone further solidifies their dominance in the creator-led football game space, making them the undisputed leader in live-streamed football charity events and the go-to event for millions of viewers around the world. It's worth noting that this ranking excludes football media leagues like the Kings League, which saw one of its tournaments peak at over 3.5 million viewers.
Sidemen Charity Match once again proved why it's the biggest creator-led football event in the world. With record-breaking donations, a packed Wembley Stadium, and millions watching online, the event was a massive success, setting the bar even higher for the next edition.
