A whole host of famous faces will take to the pitch this summer as Soccer Aid returns to Manchester once again. The annual charity match is set to take place at United's Old Trafford ground on Sunday, June 11 with some new celebrities and returning players amongst the star-studded line-up.
Returning for the fifth year on the bounce is former Love Island contestant Kem Cetinay, 26, who will once again be representing the World XI FC team due to his Turkish Cypriot roots. The TV star, who won the 2017 series of the ITV dating show alongside Amber Davies, has been one of the key players of the UNICEF charity match since his first game back in 2019.
Essex-born Kem, who co-owns his restaurant Array, has scored in all but one game he has played ever since his debut - and if he keeps up his impressive streak this year then he's likely to become Soccer Aid's all-time top goal scorer.
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The former barber said it's a 'dream come true' to be asked to take part in the charity match again for a fifth year, and reflected on how he used to watch the game when working in a his hair salon prior to going on Love Island.
“It’s that one phone call every year where I get goose bumps every time I get it. It’s a dream come true. It's always an instant yes for me when I’m asked to do it," Kem told the Manchester Evening News.
"I used to watch Soccer Aid in the barber shop whilst I was cutting hair when I was like 18, so it was always something that I dreamt of doing and so now being on the pitch each year is quite surreal. I never ever thought I’d get asked to be fair, but eventually noq when they don’t ask me to do it I’m going to take it really personally," he joked.
"The game is just the cherry on top. The work UNICEF does is amazing and there’s so much that goes on before we even get to the match, so when it comes to that part we just go out and enjoy it.
"We all have so much fun together, we're like one big family. It’s really special."
Kem has been on the winning team World XI for the last four years and has set standards high after one goal in 2019, two in 2021 and one in 2022.
The 2022 match, which raised a record breaking £15.6 million and took place at London Stadium, ended 4-1 with penalties to Soccer Aid World XI, taking them into the overall lead with 6-5 wins since the inaugural 2006 match.
Talking about his goal streak and the 'pressure' to keep it up, Kem said: "I’m always on the winning team and it’s a big pressure now for me to score every time. My whole family now expects me to score every year, it’s become outrageous really. They're like ‘Kem if you don’t score we won’t be unhappy but we’ll be disappointed.’
“It feels great to score. Last year was really special for me because my nan and grandad were there as well to see it. They don’t really travel around that much but they were there in the stand with my mum and dad and it was a really special moment for me.
"I’ve grown up playing football and it was a big part of my life growing up. That's why it’s so important to me because that's what UNICEF stands for, being able to raise money to help kids in other unfortunate countries to make sure everyone has the privilege to play as well."
Kem, who finished in fourth place with partner Alex Murphy in the 2018 series of Dancing on Ice, admitted that he is extremely competitive and revealed that many of the stars, including himself, will get private coaching ahead of the match to play at their best.
"I’m extremely competitive, like very very competitive, I just don’t like losing," he admitted.
“When it comes to nearer the time we all secretly take it a little bit seriously and hire our own coaches, I’m not going to lie.
"You just want to try to keep fit because when you get there, there's all these professionals that are really fit so you don’t want to be the odd one out."
Kem will be joined by comedian Lee Mack and Dragon Den's Steven Bartlett on the World XI side, which will once again be captained by retired Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt - who Kem likes to call his 'best friend'.
“Usain Bolt is on my team and I really like him. We’ve bonded a lot over the last couple of years, we've gone on a couple of nights out as well, and so we’ve become like best friends. Well, I call him my best friend but he probably doesn’t," he laughed.
"Apart from the game everyone’s just together and it doesn’t really feel like two teams until we’re on the pitch.
“It’s so mad being with all of these amazing different people and everyone's just there to raise money and have a laugh, you’ve just got to soak up every second of it really before you know it's done and then you have to wait another year."
Making his predictions for this year, Kem said: “I do think we’ll win again this year. Something about this year just feels really different and really special. Last year we broke the record again for how much money we raised. I feel like it’s only going to get bigger and better every year.
"I feel like this year it is a bit closer to home for me as well in terms of the work UNICEF does and all of the crisis happening out in Turkey as I’ve got a lot of family out there. For me that gives me even more of a reason to be a part of it and contribute as much as I can and use my platform.
“Plus it’s in Manchester this year and that’s my favourite city in the country. I love it. Any excuse for a night out there.”
The match will air live and exclusively on ITV, STV and ITVX on Sunday, June 11.
Tickets to attend the game are on sale now via www.socceraid.org.uk/tickets with a ticket for a family of four priced at just £60.
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