David Villa, Didier Drogba, Eden Hazard and Kaka – it's a team sheet littered with World Cup, Ballon d'Or and European Cup winners.
The brave souls leading them were a group of content creators at the peak of their powers, led by YouTubers Chunkz and AboFlah.
The charity match – a 12-goal thriller in Qatar on Friday – brought together some of the world's most popular internet celebrities and football legends for Match for Hope and raised more than $8 million.
Team Chunkz defeated Team AboFlah 7-5 at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in front of more than 30,000, with thousands more watching online.
“I'm so happy, elated and the real win was to try to raise enough money for charity, but of course I really did want to win the football match, and we managed to leave with the win, so I'm very, very happy,” Chunkz tells The National.
It was his seventh charity game, but the win was extra special. He adds: "I finally won one. I've lost the other six.”
The money will go to educational programmes in Mali, Rwanda, Tanzania, Pakistan, Palestine and Sudan through the Education Above All Foundation.
Team captain Chunkz, 28, whose real name is Amin Mohamed, is a Somali-British YouTuber and entertainer, with more than three million YouTube subscribers and 4.4 million followers on Instagram. Fellow captain AboFlah, who lives in Kuwait, also has a significant following with more than nine million on Instagram and 37.2 million on YouTube.
“I met AboFlah the year before at a Sidemen Charity Match [a similar style fundraiser in the UK], with the likes of KSI, so with that connection I had, and him being Somali, me being Somali was kind of like a no-brainer,” he says.
“I said let's do this for the UK versus the Middle East."
The pair managed to pull in big-name players, such as World Cup winners Villa (Spain) and Roberto Carlos (Brazil); Chelsea heroes Drogba, Hazard and Claude Makelele; and the 2007 Ballon d'Or winner Kaka. Former Premier League bosses Arsene Wenger and Antonio Conte were managers.
Chunkz adds: “We’re planning on trying to make it an annual thing. This is the first event that we've had, I think, for the region in general, where influencers and legends played. So we had a lot of mistakes, but it's something that we're going to learn from, and hopefully make it even better the next year.”
He has participated in charity matches before, including Soccer Aid and ones with the Sidemen (another popular YouTube group). However, he says this event was especially meaningful.
“I was the captain and we planned this for three months," he adds. “It was different because we had legends that I've never played with before, like Eden Hazard, Kaka, Didier Drogba, just naming a few, because I grew up watching these guys.”
As the charity match ended, symbolic gestures like the display of the Palestinian flag and keffiyeh also added profound meaning to the event.
He has always been vocal about his stance on Palestine, adding: “It's something so big, where a lot of opinions are very divided and split. Of course, there's going to be some people that take this side, and some people that don't.
“I'm always going to be Free Palestine. It's not a new movement I'm a part of. I've always wanted freedom for our Muslim brothers and sisters.
“I'm on the right side of history."
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
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Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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