Everton and Liverpool Stars Team Up in Homeless Charity Match 2026

Key Points

• Rivals from Everton and Liverpool FC will unite in an epic Game4Hope charity match on 26 September 2026, staged at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
• The charity match aims to collect money for Shelter and Everton in the Community that will help those experiencing homelessness in the Liverpool City Region.
• Teams will consist of a Merseyside XI captained by Peter Reid and John Barnes and a Rest of the World XI with such football legends as Cafu, Clarence Seedorf and Jaap Stam.
• Among the celebrity players will be Tony Bellew, John Bishop, Molly McCann, Rachel Yankey and Chelcee Grimes; the half-time entertainment will be performed by Tinie Tempah.
• Now the tickets can be purchased online: special offers for Everton and Liverpool season ticket holders adult tickets £15, under-16 tickets £10; general sale tickets adult tickets £25, under-16 tickets £15.
• The official data suggests that on one night in autumn 2025 there were 4,793 homeless people in England, which is a 96% increase during five years; the cost of housing 1,600 families of homeless people can amount to £90m according to Liverpool City Council.

Everton (Liverpool standard ) August 19, 2026 – Legends from uk/local/everton/">Everton and Liverpool FC will set aside one of football’s fiercest rivalries to take part in the inaugural Game4Hope charity match at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday 26 September, with a 4.45pm kick-off, in a bid to raise vital funds and awareness for homeless people across the Liverpool City Region.

The fixture, described by organisers as a “Soccer Aid-style” event, will see a Merseyside XI made up of former Everton and Liverpool players and local celebrities face a Rest of the World XI featuring international football stars and well-known figures from sport, music and television. Proceeds will be split between national homelessness charity Shelter and Everton in the Community, the official charity of Everton FC, which delivers support services to vulnerable people in the region.

Sue Gregory, chief executive of Everton in the Community, said homelessness was “one of the most urgent challenges facing our communities” and called on supporters from across Merseyside and beyond to attend what she described as “a very special day for our city”.

Who will play in the Game4Hope match?

The Merseyside XI will be jointly managed by former Everton and England midfielder Peter Reid and ex-Liverpool winger John Barnes, bringing together two figures closely associated with both clubs. Among the former players named for the Merseyside side are Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler, Everton full-back Leighton Baines, midfielders Gareth Barry and Louis Saha, defenders Phil Jagielka, Joleon Lescott and Yakubu, as well as former forward John Aldridge.

The Rest of the World XI will include some of the most decorated players in football history. Brazil’s two-time World Cup-winning captain Cafu will line up alongside Champions League winners Clarence Seedorf and Jaap Stam, while Dutch great Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has also been confirmed for the global side.

Celebrities taking part for the Merseyside XI include former world light-heavyweight boxing champion Tony Bellew, comedian and lifelong Evertonian John Bishop, and UFC fighter Molly McCann, according to reporting by the BBC and local outlets. The World XI’s celebrity contingent features former British heavyweight boxer Johnny Nelson and Ted Lasso actors Toheeb Jimoh and Moe Hashim.

Seven-time Women’s Premier League winner Rachel Yankey and singer-songwriter and footballer Chelcee Grimes will also feature in the match, underlining the cross-gender and cross-industry nature of the event. Rapper Tinie Tempah is scheduled to perform at half-time as part of the entertainment programme.

When and where is Game4Hope taking place?

Game4Hope will be staged at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock on Saturday 26 September 2026, with kick-off at 4.45pm. The waterfront venue, which opened this year, will host the fixture as part of a wider effort to harness football’s profile in Merseyside to address social issues.

Tickets went on sale on Wednesday 19 August at 10am, with organisers offering discounted pricing for season-ticket holders at both Everton and Liverpool in recognition of the joint nature of the event.

How much are Game4Hope tickets and how can fans buy them?

Everton and Liverpool season-ticket members can purchase Game4Hope tickets at reduced rates: adults £15 and under-16s £10. General sale tickets are priced at £25 for adults and £15 for under-16s.

Organisers have said tickets can be bought online via the official Game4Hope sales channel, with details promoted through Everton in the Community, both clubs’ official communications and local media. The pricing structure is intended to make the event accessible to a wide range of supporters while still generating significant funds for the homelessness charities involved.

Why is Game4Hope being held and what do organisers say?

Game4Hope has been organised against a backdrop of sharply rising rough sleeping figures and growing pressure on local authorities to respond to homelessness. According to official data cited in coverage by the BBC, an estimated 4,793 people were sleeping rough on a single night in England in autumn 2025, representing a 96% increase over five years.

In February, Liverpool City Council warned that the cost of housing up to 1,600 homeless families and individuals in the region could reach as much as £90m in the coming years, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing local services.

Sue Gregory, CEO at Everton in the Community, said: “Homelessness is one of the most urgent challenges facing our communities, and we know only too well through our work across the Liverpool City Region that it can affect people from all walks of life.”

“Game4Hope is about our city coming together to say that nobody should be without a safe and secure place to call home,” she added. “Football has an incredible ability to unite people and, for one special afternoon, we’re putting rivalries aside and using that power to make a real difference.”

Gregory said the funds and awareness raised would help the charity “continue to be there for people facing some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable, while shining a light on both the visible and hidden reality of homelessness across our region”. She expressed hope that “supporters from across Merseyside and beyond will join us at Hill Dickinson Stadium for what promises to be a very special day for our city”.

Reporting by the BBC and local outlets including the Liverpool Echo and ToffeeWeb has highlighted the involvement of both clubs’ foundations and the backing of Shelter, one of the UK’s leading homelessness charities.

How does Game4Hope fit with other homelessness initiatives in Liverpool?

Game4Hope is not the only football-linked effort to tackle homelessness in the city. The LFC Foundation’s annual Kip on the Kop sleepout, supported by comedian and Liverpool fan John Bishop, returned to Anfield in 2026 and invites supporters to spend a night on the Kop stand to raise funds and awareness.

Last year’s Kip on the Kop saw more than 400 participants raise £119,575 for the LFC Foundation and Liverpool Homeless FC, with proceeds supporting employability sessions and mentoring for young people who have experienced homelessness, as well as outreach and wellbeing work. The Game4Hope organisers have positioned their event as complementary to such initiatives, using the profile of former players from both Merseyside clubs to broaden the donor base and public conversation around homelessness.

The event also comes amid wider political commitments to address rough sleeping. Coverage on ToffeeWeb noted that Game4Hope follows Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s promise to bring an end to rough sleeping in the United Kingdom, though the fixture itself is focused on fundraising and awareness rather than policy.

Background to the Game4Hope development

The Game4Hope match has been developed through a partnership between Everton in the Community, Shelter and Legends Soccer, with both Everton FC and Liverpool FC lending their support to the project. The initiative builds on a long tradition of charity fixtures involving former players, but is distinctive in its explicit focus on homelessness in the Liverpool City Region and its joint backing from fans of the two rival clubs.

Everton in the Community has long worked on projects supporting vulnerable people, including those at risk of homelessness, while Shelter campaigns nationally and locally on housing and homelessness issues. By bringing together high-profile former players from both clubs, alongside celebrities from sport, music and television, the organisers aim to attract a wide audience and generate both immediate financial support and longer-term public engagement with the issue.

The choice of Hill Dickinson Stadium, Everton’s new home, underlines the ambition for the event. The venue has quickly become a focal point for major occasions in the city, and hosting Game4Hope there signals an intention to make the fixture a recurring part of the local sporting and charitable calendar if it proves successful.

Prediction: how could Game4Hope affect fans, clubs and homelessness services?

If Game4Hope attracts a strong crowd and significant media attention, the most direct effect is likely to be an increase in funding for Shelter and Everton in the Community’s homelessness-related programmes in the Liverpool City Region. This could translate into more outreach work, additional support sessions for people at risk of losing their homes, and expanded employability and wellbeing projects for those who have experienced homelessness.

For fans, the event offers a rare opportunity to see legends from both Everton and Liverpool playing together in a non-competitive setting, which could strengthen a sense of shared civic identity around social issues even as sporting rivalries remain intense on the pitch. For the clubs and their charitable arms, a successful fixture could establish a template for future joint initiatives, potentially encouraging other rival clubs in the UK to consider similar collaborations on social causes.

In the longer term, if Game4Hope becomes an annual or biennial event, it could help keep homelessness in the public eye in Merseyside, complementing existing campaigns such as Kip on the Kop and putting sustained pressure on local and national policymakers to prioritise affordable housing and support services. However, organisers and commentators have stressed that the match is one part of a wider response, and that lasting change will depend on continued investment, policy action and community work beyond a single day’s fundraising.