The first-ever Match for Hope will begin later today, i.e., February 23, with numerous popular content creators and football legends set to participate. Organized by the Education Above All Foundation, the charity match was set up back in 2012 in Qatar to transform lives through education. It will emanate from the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, with influencers Chunkz and Aboflah being the captains of the two teams.
Team Chunkz will be managed by Arsene Wenger while Antonio Conte will take charge of Team Aboflah. In terms of the line-up of former football superstars, the likes of Roberto Carlos, Claude Makelele, Didier Drogba, Eden Hazard, David Villa, and Kaka are set to be seen in action.
Sports fans can catch the action live on YouTube starting at 4:50 PM GMT/7:30 PM Arabia Standard Time. Here are the official streams:
Those interested in attending the spectacle live in person can head here for tickets. Anyone looking to donate to this charity can check for more details on this link, while information on the cause itself is available here.
For those interested, here's a full list of both squads:
- Team Chunkz: Harry Pinero, Just Riadh, Angry Ginge, Billy Wingrove, Sean Garnier, AJ Shabeel, Roberto Carlos, Johnny Carey, David Villa, Vuj, Anders Hofman, XDuttinho, Ahmad Aburob, Aitch, Ammar Kandil, Daud, Taiyo Kimura, Eden Hazard.
- Team Aboflah: Didier Drogba, Yung Filly, Hanody Awesome, Kristen Hanby, Sharky, Samy Chaffai, Agent 00, Claude Makelele, Kaka, Thomas Bragg, Jamm, Caspar Lee, Eman SV2, Amine Raddi, Danny Aarons, Markitos, Thogden, Adel Khamis.
Other sports events by famous content creators
Many such tournaments have been conducted by prominent streamers. A few of the more popular names include Kings League, Queens League, Sidemen Charity Match, GP Explorer 2, and Creator Dodgeball World Championship.
Many of these competitions have created viewership records either across platforms or within their regions, peaking at over two and three million concurrent viewers. Hence, the Match for Hope will have a lot to live up to, but if the names on the team sheets are anything to go by, readers can expect more milestones at the end of this charity football game.