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15th Mar 2018

Sir Mo Farah is in the England squad

He's signed up for Soccer Aid and will compete against Usain Bolt

Oli Dugmore

He’s signed up for Soccer Aid and will compete against Usain Bolt

Sir Mo Farah has today announced he will play for England in this year’s eagerly anticipated Soccer Aid for Unicef match on ITV.

Set to take centre stage at Old Trafford on Sunday 10th June, four-time Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah will play for his home nation and be on the opposing side of his good friend, and fellow Olympian, Usain Bolt.

Rumours of when Mo and Usain would go “head-to-head” have been rife ever since the pair both took part in their final major T&F championships towards the end of last year.

Sir Mo Farah, England said: “When I got the call from Robbie to play for the England side at the Soccer Aid for Unicef match, I immediately said ‘yes.’

“Everyone knows that I’m absolutely mad about football and to top it off, this event is for such a good cause and helping children around the world makes it something I definitely want to support.

“My instant ‘yes’ was even easier in the knowledge that I would finally be going head-to-head with my friend Usain Bolt. People have long suggested we should compete against each other, so on Sunday 10th June at Old Trafford, you will see us trade our spikes for boots.

“Usain has the speed but I have the stamina so we’ll see who comes out on top at the end of 90 minutes.

“It’s going to be a brilliant day and hopefully we’ll get to see some Mo-bots as the goals go in for the England team.

“Let’s go.”

Over the coming weeks, the England V Soccer Aid World XI rivalry is set to intensify further, with some of football’s biggest legends and celebrities agreed to join both Sir Mo Farah and Usain Bolt in the growing line-ups.

The international friendly match will take place at Old Trafford on Sunday 10th June, just four days before the FIFA World Cup in Russia begins. Tickets are on sale now and the game will be broadcast live on ITV. Kick-off scheduled for 20:00 BST.

Soccer Aid for Unicef is the original England V Soccer Aid World XI charity match. It was launched and co-founded in 2006 by Unicef UK Ambassador Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes, and has previously featured A-list stars such as Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Mike Myers and Niall Horan, plus footballing royalty including Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Ronaldinho.

Unicef, the world’s leading organisation for children, has joined forces with ITV to make the pro-celebrity football match bigger and better than ever, with more potential to raise money and vital support for children in danger.

100 per cent of all public donations to Soccer Aid for Unicef will go towards supporting the vital work protecting children in the UK and globally.

The money raised through profits from ticket sales and viewer donations during the match will add to the incredible £24 million that has already been raised through Soccer Aid over the last 12 years.

Tickets for the Soccer Aid for Unicef football match on Sunday 10th June 2018 at Old Trafford are available now, here. or by calling 0161 444 2018 with tickets priced between £10 and £50.