Why Soccer Aid's Alex Brooker is excited to see Frank Lampard join England's managing team

Virgin Radio

6 Jun 2024, 11:24

Soccer Aid 2024 is just days away and comedian Alex Brooker has confessed he’s looking forward to seeing how Chelsea legend Frank Lampard handles a different England squad. 

Lampard will help manage the Soccer Aid England team this year alongside Harry Redknapp and Robbie Williams, and they’ll hope for victory against World XI, managed by former Argentina and Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino.

The Last Leg star Alex has been a firm fixture for the Soccer Aid England team since 2018, and this year will join the likes of Bobby Brazier, Jill Scott (captain), Paddy McGuinness (celebrity goalkeeper), Tom Grennan, Steven Bartlett, Sir Mo Farah and Sam Thompson. 

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England’s 2024 Soccer Aid team will be coming up against Usain Bolt’s Soccer Aid World XI side. Joining their captain will be Eden Hazard, Roberto Carlos, Martin Compston, Maisie Adam, Roman Kemp, Lee Mack, Tommy Fury and Gladiators star Diamond. 

Speaking to virginradio.co.uk ahead of Sunday’s (6th June) match, Alex revealed why he’s keen to see how Lampard handles the Soccer Aid game and his big return to Stamford Bridge. 

“I'm just excited,” he confessed.  “I met Frank at the photo shoot we did and he's a lovely guy. Also, of course, I love Harry Redknapp and I love [coach] David Seaman. It’s a good group of people to have, to listen to.”

Alex added: “I think I'm quite looking forward to seeing what Frank brings to the dynamic this year.”

Meanwhile, things have been getting tense between the two teams, according to Alex, who revealed the moment that the competition really heats up. 

“It’s all fun,” Alex insisted at first, before going into the nitty gritty details. He added: “The first few days at the training [are] amazing, and everyone's lovely, and then you get out there on game day on Sunday and it's kind of serious.

“We've done a penalty shoot out the last couple of years to decide who gets a home dressing room, and who gets the away dressing room. And [England] lost that both times. When it gets to that kind of deciding who gets a dressing room, it gets really serious. That penalty shootout is really tense.”

When it comes to this year’s competition, the comedian did share some concerns about the Usain Bolt captained World XI team. Gladiators star Livi Sheldon, aka Diamond, will be joining that team, and “she’ll be tough [to come up against]” Alex predicted. “Put it this way - I wouldn’t want to go into like a shoulder challenge [with her]... I think I’d end up going flying!” he joked.

But even though the TV star is also intimidated about coming up against professional footballers such as former Chelsea and Real Madrid star Eden Hazard, what he stressed was how wonderful an experience Soccer Aid is thanks to how it gets such a variety of stars together to play for such a great cause.

“It just kind of blows my mind,” Alex admitted, adding: “It’s an incredible event for such an amazing cause… So please come out and support us. It’s going to be an amazing game, an amazing show, and the cause is the best. Hopefully this year we can take the money raised through Soccer Aid past that £100 million mark.”

Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2024 takes place on Sunday 9th June at Stamford Bridge. Tune into talkSPORT with live coverage from 6pm before kick-off at 7:30pm. 

Soccer Aid 2024 will also be broadcast live on ITV1, STV and ITVX, hosted by UNICEF UK Ambassador Dermot O’Leary and UNICEF UK High Profile Supporter Alex Scott.