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Sidemen Charity Match 2026 Raises Record £6.2 Million at Sold-Out Wembley

Published on April 20, 2026

The 2026 Sidemen Charity Match took place on April 18, drawing a sold-out crowd of approximately 90,000 to Wembley Stadium in London, attracting more than two million concurrent viewers across platforms, and raising £6.2 million for charity.

The fundraising total surpassed the £4.7 million raised at the 2025 edition of the event, making it the highest amount ever raised by the annual exhibition match. Proceeds from the 2026 match went to Bright Side and M7 Education, charities linked to the Sidemen group.

The YouTube All Stars defeated Sidemen FC 4-1 on penalties after the two sides drew 10-10 at full time, setting a new goals record for the event. It marked the second consecutive year the All Stars won via shootout. The match was the seventh edition of the charity fixture.

Tickets, priced between approximately £15 and £35, sold out in roughly 2.5 hours.

Viewership

Peak concurrent viewership across YouTube, Twitch, and Kick reached approximately 2.26 million, with the official Sidemen YouTube stream accounting for roughly 1.96 million of that figure.

The 2026 total was lower than the approximately eight million viewers who watched the 2025 match live. It also represented one of the lower peaks since 2022 for the franchise, which has maintained multi-million live viewership across each edition.

Creator Perspective

The Sidemen, a seven-member UK YouTube collective with more than 140 million combined subscribers, organized the event independently. Member Vikram Singh Barn addressed questions about the event’s future. “We built this all ourselves,” he said. “We all started off as kids with an ambition and a hobby and this shows how far we can go. There will be more matches. That’s for sure.”

Member Ethan Payne attributed the event’s continued audience draw to its tone. “It’s so not serious,” he told BBC Newsbeat, adding that fan expectations serve as motivation. “We do something great every year and it’s what motivated us to keep doing it.”

Rapper Tinie Tempah performed at halftime, delivering songs including “Written in the Stars” and “Pass Out.” The match also featured an on-pitch moment in which YouTuber Max Fosh, upon receiving a yellow card from referee Mark Clattenburg, set the card alight in front of the crowd.