No longer a gimmick: The Sidemen Charity Match 2025

Wembley Stadium – easily the most iconic venue in England. Not just for football, but beyond. The hallowed grounds where England lifted their sole World Cup title in 1966, where Freddie Mercury made the world stand still with one of the most iconic concert performances of all time in Live Aid 1985, and where the Lionesses made history by winning the Women’s Euros in 2022.

On Saturday, 8th March 2025, Wembley Stadium was the venue for another event that in some ways was as significant as all these previously mentioned iconic events. More than 90,000 spectators watched on as Sidemen FC took on the Youtube All-Stars in a sold out Wembley Stadium in the sixth edition of the Sidemen Charity Match.

It was a goal frenzy, as the game ended 9-9 at full time, which saw the clash head to a penalty shootout for the first time in its history. The Youtube All-Stars prevailed 5-4 in the shootout, with American Youtuber iShowSpeed scoring the winning penalty to secure the Youtube All-Stars second-ever win in this annual event.

But it wasn’t all just social media personalities having a kickabout – the match had a huge social impact as well. This edition of the Sidemen Charity Match raised the highest amount for charity it ever has. Over £4.7 million was raised to be distributed to the charities BBC Children In Need, Bright Side, and M7 Education.

The match provided everything for the perfect day out, from hilarious moments such as Logan Paul suplexing Joe Weller in celebration after the latter scored the opening goal of the game and Max Fosh shredding referee Mark Clattenburg’s yellow card, to a thrilling halftime show from rapper AJ Tracey, followed by a performance from KSI of his viral song, ‘Thick Of It’.

It also provided emotional moments for longtime fans as Sidemen member Zerkaa finally scored in a Charity Match, becoming the final member of the septet to score in the charity games. His goal saw everyone in the stadium, including the opposition team, united in celebration.

Football fans weren’t disappointed either – there were some standout performances as players gave it their all through the 90 minutes at this legendary venue. A layer of professionalism was added by FotMob, the official live score partner of the event for the third year running. They provided a detailed insight into the game, similar to that of a professional fixture. With live match ratings, passing figures, xG stats, and much more, the in-depth coverage allowed fans across the world to really immerse themselves in the experience.

With an influencer event selling out a stadium like Wembley, Matias Høibraaten, the head of growth at FotMob shared his feelings about how influencer events can help the sport grow, stating, “FotMob has long recognized the importance of the influencer space in driving brand awareness and lending credibility, particularly among Millennials and Gen Z. Partnering with the Sidemen Charity Match has been one of our most unique collaborations to date, and the impact speaks for itself—on March 8th, FotMob became the most downloaded app in the UK.”

“The Sidemen Charity Match has cemented itself as one of the biggest creator-led sporting events in the world, and we were thrilled to be part of this year’s success,” he went on to add.

This edition gave fans the opportunity to vote for the player of the match in the FotMob app. Despite the lowest rating on the pitch with 1.4, 108,991 fans voted American streamer and Youtube All-Stars goalkeeper Sketch as their player of the match. The streamer impressed many by making nine saves for the All-Stars, and later saved Mimiminter’s penalty in the shootout that led to the All-Stars winning. English Youtuber Theo Baker secured the highest rating of the game with 9.7, thanks to his hat-trick for the All-Stars.

When asked about the possibility of expanding FotMob coverage to other charity matches, Matias said, “Our focus has been on the Sidemen due to our long-standing partnership with them. That said, we have a strong interest in events like Soccer Aid, Match for Hope, and other charity matches. We’d be delighted to explore opportunities to collaborate with their respective organizers in the future.”

With incredible global reach and unprecedented amounts being raised for extremely worthy causes in partnership with some of the world’s most recognisable brands, events like the Sidemen Charity Match show that the perception of these “gimmicky” events needs to change. Far from self-indulgent spectacles driven only by likes, shares, and view counts; they are memorable events with the power to bring about great positive change around the world.