British folk rocker Marcus Mumford is to host a celebrity soccer match raising funds to help survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire.
The Mumford & Sons frontman has been working with staff at Queen’s Park Rangers (QPR), a London club based near the tower block where at least 80 people died in a blaze last month (Jun17), to provide coaching to local children affected.
To raise funds to those left homeless by the fire, Marcus will join a host of British celebrities who will line-up alongside retired soccer stars led by QPR legend Les Ferdinand, to play in a match at the team’s Loftus Road stadium on 2 September (17).
“I’m very excited to be part of the summer’s worth of football for kids affected by Grenfell and in the wider North Kensington community,” the I Will Wait singer, 30, said in a press release.
“I’m also really looking forward to dusting off my boots, nutmegging (passing the ball through the legs of) Ferdinand and smashing some goals past (former England goalkeeper David) Seaman on September 2nd.”
The stars set to play in the #Game4Grenfell match include, Olly Murs, rapper Wretch 32, Damian Lewis, Tinie Tempah, Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, Jamie Dornan, Richard Ashcroft, Kasabian guitarist Serge Pizzorno, and James Bay.
They will be joined by ex-professionals including Les, David Seaman, Trevor Sinclair, Alan Shearer, Andy Sinton, Ally McCoist and Paul Merson and Peter Crouch.
Tickets for the match are to go on sale at $19.60 (£15), with all the gate receipts and the money raised from other initiatives to be passed on to the Evening Standard Dispossessed fund set up to help members of the community affected by the Grenfell blaze.
In addition to helping Les, QPR owner Tony Fernandes and Columbia Records president Ferdy Unger-Hamilton organise the match, Marcus has been meeting survivors of the blaze and their families as well as hosting the sports camps alongside staff from QPR, and Chelsea and Fulham soccer clubs.
