With the Sidemen’s latest announcement of the England vs France charity match coming to the pitch May 24th, what better time to highlight the first half of 2026 successes. The Sidemen’s reach persists with ridiculous numbers across the board. Starting with content from over 35 creators, it is an impressive show of the true economy that these stars exist in. Now they’re challenging the Eleven All Stars in France to keep the momentum going.
The History
This past April the sidemen packed Wembley stadium with 90,000 fans and raised 6.2 Million Euros for Bright Side and BBC Children in Need. The YouTube All-Stars took the win in shootouts, starting a two-game winning streak and crowning Jynxzi the man of the match.
Although it’s blown up in the past few years the SidemenFC have been going since 2016. The inaugural match was held on 3 June 2016 at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton, raising over £110,000 for the Saints Foundation. From 2016 to 2018 the Sidemen Charity Match occurred annually until a four-year hiatus. In 2022 the comeback match broke a Guinness World Record for "most viewers for a charity sports match live stream on YouTube" with 2,558,501 viewers. Since 2022 the sidemen have raised over 14 Million Pounds for various charities.
The Socials
Mass coverage is by far the most valuable factor of the Sidemen Charity matches. They bring audiences from every corner of the internet, combining live events, streaming, and social media to drive billions of views. Posts by players and creators spanned across 90 social accounts and 882 posts, there were twelve separate posts with over 10 million impressions. The hype around the match becomes exponential with 675 thousand shares, a 6.98% engagement rate and 68.1 Million likes.
Favorite Moments
Our favourite moments started at 45 minutes when Tobi Brown scored the SidemenFC’s 4th goal and won the social trophy. With 45 million plays and 1.98 million likes this was the top video of the tournament. The second and most flashy moment was Max Fosh’s contest for his yellow card. He turned it red and burnt the card right off the pitch. Lastly was Mrwhosetheboss’s final goal in pens, sealing the deal for the YouTube All Stars victory.
What's Next
At its core the Sidemen Charity Match is a group of friends coming together to use their influence for good. The sentiment has been contagious among the community and continues to grow. As we all get ready to watch the England vs France game next weekend, the influence and impact continue to grow globally. Look out for the next socialpruf report on SidemenFC vs Eleven All Stars.
