‘Soccer Aid’ has been postponed.
The annual charity celebrity football match – which will see Olly Murs and Usain Bolt lead their teams out – was due to kick off at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium on June 6th, but has now been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
An insider told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre TV column: "’Soccer Aid’ is a huge deal and this game was billed as the biggest and best ever.
"Organisers have tried to fight any talk of cancelling and had even thought of playing behind closed doors.
"They have a couple of dates pencilled in already for when the crisis is over.
"They’ll be playing the match in 2020 once the football season is up and running again. No one wants to wait a year for this to take place."
The charity game – which has been running since 2006 – has raised more than £38 million for Unicef over the years, with the help of celebrities and football legends.
When this year’s match goes ahead, singer Olly Murs will captain of the England team, which will feature McFly’s Danny Jones and comedians Joel Dommett and Russell Howard.
Olympian Bolt will lead out the World XI team, which will consist of TV chef Gordon Ramsay and ‘Love Island’ winner Kem Cetinay, among others.
Kem and Piers, who was part of the World XI management team last year, exchanged phone numbers following the event, weeks after the 54-year-old TV presenter branded the 23-year-old reality star a "dimwit" on TV and insisted he could never be friends with him.
They bonded over ‘Soccer Aid’ when Kem scored an equaliser that earned the team – which was managed by Piers and Harry Redknapp – a penalty shoot-out win.
Kem recalled: "I really like Piers and I asked him before the game, ‘What have I got to do for us to be friends?’ and he replied, ‘You need to score a goal.’ That’s why when I scored I ran over to him and gave him a big hug.
"We’re good friends now – I wouldn’t go so far as to say we had a bromance – I wish it was. I’ve got his phone number and probably no other Love Islander has."
Soccer Aid postponed due to coronavirus
