Game4Ukraine was a charity

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

match played on 5 August 2023 to raise money for the United24 initiative, a fundraiser to help in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

's rebuilding of facilities and infrastructure that suffered damage from the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

as well as the ongoing

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. It was played at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

, home stadium of

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club was founded in 1905 and named after neighbouring area Chelsea. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, pl ...

Past and present Ukrainian footballers Oleksandr Zinchenko and

Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian former Manager (association football), football manager and Football player, player. Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest Striker (association football), strik ...

featured as team captains for "Team Zinchenko" and "Team Shevchenko" respectively, whose teams each played in yellow and blue (colours in the

flag of Ukraine The national flag of Ukraine (, ) consists of equally sized horizontal bands of blue and yellow. The blue and yellow bicolor flag was first seen during the 1848 Spring of Nations in Lemberg (Lviv), the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lo ...

), along with other players as well as celebrities. The game was mixed-sex, with several women footballers playing. The match was televised live on

Sky Max Sky Max is a British pay television channel and on-demand service which launched on 1 September 2021. It is owned and operated by Sky Group, a subsidiary of Comcast. The service broadcasts a variety of drama, comedy-drama, and unscripted serie ...

Sky Showcase Sky Showcase is a British pay television channel which launched on 1 September 2021. It is owned and operated by Sky Group, a division of American media company Comcast. Sky Showcase was announced on 28 July 2021, along with Sky Max, as a rep ...

and the

Freeview Freeview may refer to: *Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia *Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), a ...

channel Pick. Entertainers that were present at the event included

Melanie C Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born 12 January 1974), commonly known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sporty Spice. W ...

The Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...

Pete Doherty Peter Doherty (born 12 March 1979) is an English musician. He is best known for being co-frontman of the Libertines, which he formed with Carl Barât in 1997. His other musical projects are indie rock, indie bands Babyshambles and Peter Dohert ...

, Tom Walker,

Tom Grennan Thomas Grennan (born 8 June 1995) is an English singer and songwriter from Bedford. Grennan found fame as the guest vocalist on Chase & Status's "All Goes Wrong" in 2016. His debut album, ''Lighting Matches'', was released in July 2018. The a ...

and

Sviatoslav Vakarchuk Sviatoslav Ivanovych "Slava" Vakarchuk (; born 14 May 1975) is a Ukrainian musician, politician, public activist and soldier. He is the lead vocalist of Okean Elzy, a rock band in Ukraine. Vakarchuk is a formerBrussel" (Brussels). In 2015, Vak ...

. The event was covered by We Stream, who provided video and photo documentation of the entire match.

Pre-match

Opening ceremony

Fans in the stadium, as well as those watching on TV in the UK and around the World, saw a great line-up of players and celebrities on the pitch. There were also two DJ sets, two sopranos performing the national anthems, an address from the President of Ukraine,

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

, live stage performances from Tom Walker, Pete Doherty,

BoomBox A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape players/recorders and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid-1990s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered thro ...

, Vakarchuk, Tom Grennan, and The Pretenders, as detailed below. The half-time show was performances from Pete Doherty, BoomBox, and Tom Walker. Pete performed a version of "

Dirty Old Town "Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by the Dubliners and the Pogues. History The song was written about Salford, then in Lancashire, England, the area where MacColl was born and brought up. It was ...

" in Ukrainian, BoomBox with lead singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk performed " Hey Hey Rise Up" with his band, and Tom Walker followed with his first big hit, " Leave a Light On".

Teams

;Team Zinchenko ;;Professionals * Oleksandr Zinchenko (captain) *

Jens Lehmann Jens Gerhard Lehmann (; born 10 November 1969) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was a member of Arsenal's " Invincibles", playing every match of their unbeaten title-winning season. He holds the UEFA ...

Joleon Lescott Joleon Patrick Lescott (born 16 August 1982) is an English former professional association football, footballer, coach and sports pundit. He currently works as an interim coach with the England national football team, England senior team and pla ...

Per Mertesacker Per Mertesacker (; born 29 September 1984) is a German football coach and former professional player who played as a centre back. He is the current manager of the Arsenal Academy. Mertesacker began his senior career after being promoted from th ...

Robert Pires Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer. He is widely regarded as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players and considered by some to be one of the best wingers in the history of the sport. Pires play ...

John Arne Riise John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), coach. With 110 caps, Riise is the most capped player for the Norway national football te ...

Antonio Valencia Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera, known as Antonio Valencia (; born 4 August 1985), is an Ecuadorian former professional footballer who played primarily as a right-sided player throughout his career, initially as a right winger, before developin ...

Wes Morgan Westley Nathan Morgan (born 21 January 1984) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a Centre Back, centre-back. Born in England, he played for the Jamaica national football team, Jamaica national team. He was als ...

Jack Wilshere Jack Andrew Garry Wilshere (born 1 January 1992) is an English Association football, football coach and former professional Association football, player who played as a midfielder. He was most recently the interim head coach of EFL Championshi ...

Bacary Sagna Bacary Sagna (born 14 February 1983) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Sagna's former manager at Arsenal, Arsène Wenger, once described him as the best right-back in the Premier League. In addition to him r ...

David James Dewi, Dai, Dafydd or David James may refer to: Performers *David James (actor, born 1839) (1839–1893), English stage comic and a founder of London's Vaudeville Theatre *David James (actor, born 1967) (born 1967), Australian presenter of ABC's ''P ...

Charlie Adam Charles Graham Adam (born 10 December 1985) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the set-piece coach at Everton. Prior to that, he was the manager of club Fleetwood Town. Adam started hi ...

Mark Noble Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the sporting director of Premier League club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United. A fan of the c ...

Gaël Clichy Gaël Dimitri Clichy (born 26 July 1985) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He is currently the assistant manager of the France national under-21 team. Predominantly left-footed but naturally right-footed, he ...

Martin Škrtel Martin Škrtel (born 15 December 1984) is a Slovak former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Škrtel previously played for FK AS Trenčín and FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, Zenit Saint Petersburg, before join ...

Yevhen Konoplyanka Yevhen Olehovych Konoplyanka (; born 29 September 1989) is a Ukrainian former professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger. Konoplyanka began his professional career at FC Dnipro, Dnipro Dn ...

Yevhen Levchenko Evgeniy Viktorovych Levchenko, also spelled Yevhen Levchenko (; born 2 January 1978 in Kostiantynivka, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) is a retired Ukrainian footballer. He was the main participant of the Russian version of the show '' The Bachelo ...

Oleh Luzhnyi Oleh Romanovych Luzhnyi (; born 5 August 1968) is a Ukrainian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Club career Luzhnyi is a product of the Karpaty sports school (coached by Yuriy Hdanskyi and Yuriy Dyachuk-Stavytskyi) an ...

Mikaël Silvestre Mikaël Samy Silvestre (born 9 August 1977) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He is best known for a nine-year spell at Manchester United F.C., Manchester U ...

Darijo Srna Darijo Srna (; born 1 May 1982) is a Croatian former professional association football, footballer and current director of football of Ukrainian Premier League club FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Shakhtar Donetsk. During most of his career he played as a r ...

Gilberto Silva Gilberto Aparecido da Silva (; born 7 October 1976) is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder, most notably for Brazilian side Atlético Mineiro a ...

Katie Chapman Katie Sarah Chapman (born 15 June 1982) is an English former professional association football, footballer who notably played for FA WSL clubs Arsenal W.F.C., Arsenal Ladies and Chelsea L.F.C., Chelsea Ladies and was a member of the England wome ...

* Jessica Hurtado *

Rachel Yankey Rachel Aba Yankey (born 1 November 1979) is a former English footballer who played as a winger or forward. Yankey is best known for her long association with Arsenal Ladies, for whom she played 15 seasons over two separate spells, and is rank ...

Yakubu Yakubu is a male-given Hausa language, Hausa, Yoruba language, Yoruba and some parts of Edo State, Edo. The name is commonly used as a surname in Nigeria and other African countries. The name means "God is merciful.". It is a cognate of Jacob (na ...

;;Celebrities *

Phil Dunster Philip James Dunster is an English actor. He is known for his roles in the Sky One drama '' Strike Back'' (2017–2018), the Channel 4 science fiction series ''Humans'' (2018), the ITV comedy-drama '' The Trouble with Maggie Cole'' (2020), the ...

Roman Kemp Roman Kemp (born 28 January 1993), is an American-born British podcast host, television personality and former radio host. From 2017 to 2024, he presented the national radio network Capital FM breakfast show. Kemp presents ''The One Show'' on B ...

Hero Fiennes Tiffin Hero Beauregard Faulkner Fiennes Tiffin (; born 6 November 1997) is an English actor and film producer. He is most known for his starring roles in the ''After'' film series (2019–2023) and for his portrayal of a young Tom Riddle in the film ...

Manager:

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

;Team Shevchenko ;;Professionals *

(captain) *

Michael Essien Michael Kojo Essien (born 3 December 1982) is a Ghanaian Association football, football coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach at Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland. During his prime he was regarded as on ...

Luca Toni Luca Toni (; born 26 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer, Toni scored over 300 goals throughout his career, and is one of the top-five highest scoring Italians in all competition ...

Dida In England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, the Diploma in Digital Applications (DiDA) was an optional information and communication technology (ICT) course, usually studied by Key Stage 4 or equivalent school students (aged 14–16) ...

Massimo Oddo Massimo Oddo (; born 14 June 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player who is the current head coach of Milan Futuro, AC Milan's reserve team. As a player, he played as a right-back. Oddo played for several Italian ...

Gianfranco Zola Gianfranco Zola (; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football executive, Manager (association football), manager, and former Association football, footballer who played predominantly as a Forward (association football), forward. He is currently v ...

Carlo Cudicini Carlo Cudicini (born 6 September 1973) is a former Italian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently a club ambassador and loan player technical coach at Chelsea. He is the son of the AC Milan goalkeeper Fabio Cudicini (1935–2025 ...

Claude Makélélé Claude Makélélé Sinda (born 18 February 1973) is a French Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He last managed Super League Greece club Astera ...

William Gallas William Eric Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French football coach and former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and Engl ...

Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian Association football, football administrator and former Football player, player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation. He is often regarded as one of the ...

Mykhailo Mudryk Mykhailo Petrovych Mudryk (; born 5 January 2001) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Chelsea and the Ukraine national team. Mudryk is currently disqualified from football for alleged doping for 4 years. M ...

Clarence Seedorf Clarence Clyde Seedorf (; born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch former professional Association football, football manager and player. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest midfielders of all time. He is currently working primarily remotely as ...

Fabio Cannavaro Fabio Cannavaro (; born 13 September 1973) is an Italian professional association football, football coach and former player who last was the head coach of Croatian club GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb. He is regarded as one of the greatest De ...

Shota Arveladze Shota Arveladze ( ka, შოთა არველაძე; born 22 February 1973) is a Georgian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who most recently coached Turkish club Fatih Karag� ...

Christian Panucci Christian Panucci (; born 12 April 1973) is an Italian former footballer and manager. In his playing career he played as a defender. A versatile footballer, he began his career as a right-back, but was also capable of playing on the left; as he ...

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Jerrel Floyd "Jimmy" Hasselbaink ( ; born 27 March 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. Born in Suriname, he and his family would later move to the Dutch city of Zaandam where he first played football, initially a ...

Joe Cole Joseph John Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger. He was long touted as a child prodigy and as the hottest prospect in English football, wi ...

* Serginho *

Jermain Defoe Jermain Colin Defoe (born 7 October 1982) is an English football coach and former professional player. He was most recently the under-18s coach at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Defoe was a striker and began his career with Charlto ...

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and current ice hockey player who plays as a goaltender for Oxford City Stars. He has ...

Serhiy Rebrov Serhiy Stanislavovych Rebrov (; born 3 June 1974) is a Ukrainian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is currently the manage ...

Gerard Piqué Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered to be one of the best defenders of his generation. Initially a talented student athlete at Barcelona's La ...

* Júlio César *

Claire Rafferty Claire Lauren Rafferty (born 11 January 1989) is an English pundit and retired professional footballer. She made over 100 appearances as a left back or left winger for Chelsea in the FA WSL and also spent time at Millwall Lionesses and West Ha ...

Carly Telford Carly Mitchell Telford (born 7 July 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Telford joined Leeds United Ladies in 2007 from relegated club Sunderland. In May of that year she had turned out for ...

;;Celebrities *

Russell Howard Russell Joseph Howard (born 23 March 1980) is an English comedian, television presenter, radio presenter and actor. He has hosted his own television shows, ''Russell Howard's Good News'' and ''The Russell Howard Hour'', and appeared on the topi ...

Toheeb Jimoh Toheeb Gbolabo O. Jimoh is an English actor. He earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his performance as Sam Obisanya in the Apple TV+ series ''Ted Lasso'' (2020–2023). He is also known for his roles in the BBC One biographical film ''An ...

Ralf Little Ralf Alastair John Little (born 8 February 1980) is an English actor, writer, presenter, narrator and former semi-professional Association football, footballer. He has worked mainly in television comedy, including playing Antony Royle in ''The ...

James Arthur James Andrew Arthur (born 2 March 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after winning the ninth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2012. His debut single, a cover of Shontelle's " Impossible", was released by Syco Music aft ...

Chelcee Grimes Chelcee Maria Grimes (born 8 May 1992) is an English singer, songwriter, television presenter, and footballer. She has written songs for Kylie Minogue, Dua Lipa, Blackpink, Kesha, Olly Murs, Jonas Blue, Louisa, the Saturdays, and Tom Walker. ...

Archie Renaux Archie James Beale (born 22 November 1997), known professionally as Archie Renaux, is an English actor. On television, he is known for his roles in the BBC One miniseries '' Gold Digger'' (2019) and the Netflix series '' Shadow and Bone'' (20 ...

Manager:

Emma Hayes Emma Carol Hayes (born 18 October 1976) is an English professional football manager who is the head coach of the United States women's national team. She was previously manager of Chelsea Women from 2012 to 2024, winning seven Women's Super ...

Confirmed to play *

Edgar Davids Edgar Steven Davids (; born 13 March 1973) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer. Davids was nicknamed "The Pitbull" because of his marking ability, aggression, and hard tackling style of play. After beginning his care ...

Eric Abidal Eric Sylvain Abidal (; born 11 September 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back or centre-back. He played mainly for Lyon and Barcelona, totalling 18 trophies with both teams, including two Champions Leagues ...

Ricardo Carvalho Ricardo Alberto Silveira de Carvalho (; born 18 May 1978) is a Portuguese professional association football, football coach and former player who is currently assistant head coach of the Portugal national football team, Portugal national team ...

Danny Drinkwater Daniel Noel Drinkwater (born 5 March 1990) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Having come through the youth academy at Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, he spent time on loan ...

Glen Johnson Glen McLeod Cooper Johnson (''né'' Stephens; born 23 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played predominantly as a right back. Johnson began his career at West Ham United, spending time on loan at Millwall, and was ...

* Ben Cohen *

Ben Shephard Benjamin Peter Sherrington Shephard (born 11 December 1974) is an English television presenter and journalist who is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2024–present), alongside Cat Deeley. Shephard was a main presenter ...

Mark Strong Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963) is a British actor best known for his film roles such as Prince Septimus in '' Stardust'' (2007), Archibald in '' RocknRolla'' (2008), Lord Henry Blackwood in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (200 ...

Patrick Owomoyela Patrick Olaiya Olukayode Owomoyela (; born 5 November 1979) is a German former professional footballer who played mainly as a right-back. He previously played for Lüneburger SK, VfL Osnabrück, SC Paderborn 07, Arminia Bielefeld, SV Werder Brem ...

Patrick Vieira Patrick Paul Vieira (; born 23 June 1976) is a French professional association football, football manager and former player who is the head coach of Serie A club Genoa CFC, Genoa. He was named in the FIFA 100 of the greatest living footballers i ...

Robbie Keane Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who played as a striker and is currently the head coach of Ferencváros. Keane served as captain of the Republic of Ireland from March 2006 until h ...

Patrik Berger Patrik Berger (; born 10 November 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his career in his own country with Slavia Prague and spent a season in Germany playing for Borussia Dortmund. He moved to ...

References

External links

* {{Russian invasion of Ukraine 2023 in British television 2023 in sport in London 2023–24 in English football August 2023 sports events in the United Kingdom Charity events in the United Kingdom Charity football matches Chelsea F.C. Reactions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Pre-match

Opening ceremony

Teams

See also

References

External links