The Sidemen Charity Match at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, March 8, raised £4,733,004 (~$6.1 million) for multiple charities, drawing 90,000 spectators and over 17 million online viewers. The sixth edition of the influencer-led soccer event nearly doubled its previous fundraising record.

Record Attendance and Viewership

As the BBC reports, all 90,000 tickets sold out within three hours of release, and more than 250,000 people attempted to access the sales portal when it opened in November. 

The match, which featured YouTube group The Sidemen against other content creators dubbed “YouTube Allstars,” attracted over 14 million YouTube views during the live stream.

The charity match concluded with YouTube Allstars defeating Sidemen FC in a penalty shootout (5-4) following a 9-9 draw. Goalkeeper Kylie “Sketch” Cox earned Player of the Match honors for a decisive save in the shootout.

Star-Studded Lineup

The Sidemen team featured all seven members of the British YouTube collective: JJ “KSI” Olatunji, Simon “Miniminter” Minter, Joshua “Zerkaa” Bradley, Tobit “TBJZL” Brown, Ethan “Behzinga” Payne, Vikram “Vikkstar123” Barn, and Harry “Wroetoshaw” Lewis. They were joined by other internet personalities including Logan Paul and Mark Rober.

The YouTube Allstars included Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins as captain and Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, whose channel is YouTube’s most subscribed with 371 million subscribers. The match featured halftime performances from KSI and rapper AJ Tracey.

Charity Impact and Media Production

According to Front Office Sports, the event’s proceeds benefit multiple organizations: 50% went to BBC Children in Need, 43% to Bright Side (the Sidemen’s charitable arm supporting youth and sports non-profits), and 7% to M7 Education, which funds educational trips for British schoolchildren.

The production included retired British soccer stars Jermain Defoe, Eni Aluko, and Emile Heskey providing pre-game analysis. The broadcast combined professional sports presentation with entertainment elements unique to the influencer world, including Max Fosh shredding a yellow card he received during play.

The match grew significantly from the 2023 edition, which drew 60,000 spectators at West Ham United’s London Stadium and raised £2 million (~$2.5M). 

The Sidemen collectively command over 146 million YouTube subscribers across their channels, generating over 6 billion global views.

This Wembley Stadium event is the latest convergence of digital content creators and traditional sports. Numerous influencers have previously collaborated on sports-related projects, including Jake Paul’s Netflix boxing match against Mike Tyson and the NFL’s flag football match between Kai Cenat and iShowSpeed ahead of this year’s Super Bowl.