Sidemen soccer match raises £6.2 million, draws 2.2 million concurrent viewers during 20-goal thriller

On April 18, the Sidemen and their creator friends returned to London for the 2026 edition of their charity soccer match. For the second year in a row, the star-studded footballing spectacle raised more money than any previous edition of the event. A sum of £6.2 million (~$8.4 million) will be split between a pair of nonprofit organizations.

The Sidemen, who count 23 million subscribers on their primary YouTube channel, sold enough charity match tickets to fill the 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium to capacity. Those fortunate in-person attendees were joined by massive audience of live viewers. At its peak, according to Streams Charts, the 2026 Sidemen match reached 2.2 million concurrent viewers.

The millions-strong viewership put pressure on the Sidemen and their opponents — the YouTube All-Stars — to deliver. The match did not disappoint. Members of the Sidemen switched between the two teams, keeping them evenly matched throughout a back-and-forth game. Highlights included Tobi‘s trivela goal from a free kick (there’s a reason he was once offered a trial at a pro club), Max Fosh‘s yellow card magic trick, and a rare save from xQc, who stopped JasonTheWeen‘s penalty shot.

The final score of 10-10 led to a penalty shootout, where the YouTube All-Stars earned a rare win over their Sidemen foes. Tech critic Mrwhosetheboss delivered the winning kick to send his side into a frenzy.

The biggest winners were the two organizations that split the £6.2 million fundraising total. 86% of that sum will go to the Sidemen’s Bright Side

charity, while the remaining 14% will go to M7 Education.

The VOD version of the 2026 charity match live stream has already picked up more than 11 million views on YouTube. “Thank you guys so much! This year we raised a record breaking £6,218,875 with all profits going to charity,” reads a YouTube comment attributed to the Sidemen. “This wouldn’t be possible without you guys, the best community in the world! THANK YOU”

Even after raising the bar year after year, the Sidemen never have an issue selling out their charity match, which consistently raises millions for charity. This event has become the septet’s calling card, but what makes it so good? The group’s dedication to the match helps, as do increasing investments in YouTube soccer content.

The key to the match’s success, however, may be as simple as the sport of choice. An open soccer field provides plenty of opportunities for one-off cameos, and collaborating with a bunch of famous creators is a solid strategy for achieving seven-digit live viewership.

Star-studded soccer matches revive the spirit of an earlier YouTube era, when networks and partnerships fostered camaraderie among creators. The biggest YouTube and Twitch streams are bringing influencers together on a grand scale, and that’s one of the things the Sidemen do best. Can they go even bigger in 2027?