Soccer Aid stars are victorious (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Soccer Aid stars are victorious

10:35pm Sunday 7th September 2008 in

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Bradford stars Chris Fountain and Gareth Gates donned their national colours and played their part in a second glorious victory for England last night.

They were part of an all-star celebrity line-up at Wembley who beat a Rest of the World team led by superstar chef Gordon Ramsay for Soccer Aid.

And the England team ran out 4-3 winners on the night, with skipper actor and musician Jonathan Wilkes grabbing a late winner from a free kick just outside the penalty area.

Thousands of fans watched the fund-raising event at Wembley which mingled established footballing stars with showbusiness names raising money for children’s charity Unicef and their work around the world.

Wibsey lad and Hollyoaks star Chris came second in TV competition Dancing on Ice, also competing against Bradford-born singer Gareth Gates.

But the two of them were united in the England side, with Chris starting the match up front, causing problems for the Rest of the World defence throughout the first half.

Former Pop Idol runner-up Gareth was brought on in the second half and showed off his footballing skills to the delight of thousands of his fans in the crowd, some holding banners up with messages for him.

Also featuring on the night was Keighley-born former Labour party spin doctor Alastair Campbell, who came on for the Rest of the World for the final few minutes, contributing to the great good humour of the event, organised by Gordon Ramsay and pop star Robbie Williams two years after the first Soccer Aid event.

The event was first held at Old Trafford in 2006 and raised £2.6 million for the charity.

Robbie Williams wasn’t able to play this time around because of a knee injury, and he said before the game: “I’m gutted that this time round my knee isn’t up to it so unfortunately I’m out of the game. But I hope that everyone involved has the time of their life like I did, raises loads of money for UNICEF and that the best side wins.”