WIREDGOV

A crowd of nearly 70,000 turned out to Manchester United’s Old Trafford yesterday evening to witness England defeat Rest of the World in another pulsating encounter between the two sides, by three goals to two, 3-2. 

A scorching  free kick from Man of The Match, England’s Mark Wright opened the scoring. Soon after Ben Shephard was sent off for two yellow cards and Rest of the World got back in front with two goals from former Manchester United favourite Dimitar Berbatov. A brace from Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe finished things off ensuring England claimed back the much coveted Soccer Aid trophy. 

The £5.4 million raised so far – smashing all previous on the night totals - will continue to help Unicef provide children with life-saving food, vaccines and clean water, as well as protecting them from violence, exploitation and abuse. 100% of all public donations will go towards supporting the vital work of Unicef. All public donations to Soccer Aid were matched by the UK government.  

Asif Zubairy, ITV’s Commissioning Editor for Entertainment said: “Congratulations to England a fantastic match played by both sides. We’ve raised £5.4m so far for Unicef, a huge thank you to ITV viewers who watched and donated and to the players for once again making it such an entertaining and exciting spectacle.” 

Mike Penrose, Executive Director Unicef UK: “Tonight, Soccer Aid has been a real example of what can be achieved when people come together to support children in danger around the world."It has been amazing to see everyone from football legends, to stars, to fans from far and wide celebrating our nation’s favourite sport while raising money for children around the world. For over ten years Soccer Aid has raised millions of pounds to help Unicef build a safer world for children and tonight has been no exception. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported and donated to Soccer Aid, and to the UK government for matching every penny raised, meaning we will be able to get life-saving food, medicine and clean water to even more vulnerable children around the world.”

International Development Secretary Justine Greening added: “Once again, stars from sport, TV and music have taken to the pitch for Unicef’s Soccer Aid. And having doubled all public donations to the last two fundraising matches, this year we’re making it a hat-trick! 

“By matching the generosity of people across the UK who have enjoyed tonight’s game, together we’ll help to keep thousands more children in Myanmar, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia safe from severe malnutrition and life-threatening diseases.” 

The public can continue to donate to Unicef by texting GIVE to 70750 to give £5. Text donations are open until 29th July 2016. The UK government will double all donations to Soccer Aid.

Notes for editors:

For further information: 

Nick Dear, ndear pr, 07753 811 918/ nick@ndear.co.uk  

Katie Greenaway, Endemol, 0208 222 4994 / katie.greenaway@endemoluk.com 

Rae Langford, Endemol, 0208 222 4176 / rae.langford@endemoluk.com

Rachel Hassall, Endemol, 0208 222 4994/ rachel.hassall@endemoluk.com 

Gary Smith, ITV, 0207 157 3016/ gary.smith@itv.com

Unicef UK Press Office +44 (0)20 7375 6030 or media@unicef.org.uk

About Unicef

Unicef is the world’s leading organisation for children, promoting the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.  

Unicef UK raises funds to protect children in danger, transform their lives and build a safer world for tomorrow’s children.  As a registered charity we raise funds through donations from individuals, organisations and companies and we lobby and campaign to keep children safe. Unicef UK also runs programmes in schools, hospitals and with local authorities in the UK. For more information please visit unicef.org.uk