Didier Drogba & Emile Heskey Among Ex-Stars to Play in Australia Wildfire Charity Game

​The Football Federation of Australia have confirmed they will host a charity match to raise money to combat the horrific wildfires which continue to ravage the country, and a number of former stars have agreed to play.

The 'Football For Fires' event will be held on Saturday 23 May at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, and the money raised will go towards supporting those affected and the firefighters and volunteers who have risked their lives to battle the flames.

Taking to their official website, the​ FFA revealed that stars from 16 countries had agreed to participate, including ​Chelsea legend Didier Drogba and former England star Emile Heskey.


Some of the other high-profile names who are set to take place are former ​Manchester United stars Ji-Sung Park and Dwight Yorke, ​Juventus icon Claudio Marchisio and World Cup winner David Trézéguet.


Dario Simic, John Aloisi, Dwayne De Rosario, Simon Colosimo, Alecko Eskandarian, Mark Bosnich, Con Boutsianis, Pedro Mendes, Le Cong Vinh, Michael Bridges and Geremi, while former Australia captain Mark Milligan will also feature.


“The thoughts of the entire football family have been with the victims of these terrible bushfires over the past few weeks,” chief executive officer James Johnson said.


“We now we have this important opportunity to harness the power of our global sport to raise funds to assist in the re-build of our local devastated communities, and honour the brave men and women who have put their own lives at risk during this unprecedented natural disaster.

“I’d like to thank the NSW government, Football NSW and Northern NSW Football for their support of this event, and Lou Sticca and Tribal Sports Group for their work in pulling together such a great list of players."

Lou Sticca, managing director of Tribal Sports Group, also added that more famous names are set to be confirmed in the near future.

“The #FootballForFires match is harnessing the world game and its star players to draw attention to the Australian bushfire crisis and the crucial rebuilding of communities that will be required long after the fires have eventually burnt out," he said.

“Volunteers will receive an allocation of tickets to the game and the Firefighters and SES members will fill the supporter areas at both ends of the ground and, along with thousands of football fans, will create a fantastic atmosphere at ANZ Stadium."


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Source : 90min