England v The Rest of the World, Madejski Stadium, Thursday November 12 7.45pm

Football League club Reading FC will stage the first 'The Heroes Cup' on Thursday November 12th at 7.45pm in a bid to raise money for Help For Heroes, the Football League’s nominated charity which looks to care for service people wounded on conflicts around the world.

The game, which pits two squads of former footballers, sportsmen, actors and singers alongside acting servicemen will be screened live on ITV and beamed to service people around the world. The teams will be captained by Paul Gascoigne and Lothar Matthaus and managed by Alan Curbishley and Lawrie Sanchez respectively.

The England line-up also includes: Andrew Cole, Les Ferdinand and Des Walker, Danny Dyer, Tamer Hassan, Simon Webbe, Chris Fountain, Stephen Nicholas, Paddy McGuiness, Darren Gough and Mark Ramprakash.  

The Rest of the World squad includes: Joe Calzaghe, Gus Poyet, Ally McCoist, Steffen Freund, Toto Schillachi, Tugay, Stefan Schwarz, Iain Dowie, Owen Coyle, Thomas Helmer and Anders Limpar, sportsmen Iwan Thomas, Kenny Logan and Justin Marshall, TV presenters Craig Doyle and Donal McIntyre. 

Current servicemen representing the Army, Navy and RAF have been selected to play for their country as representatives of the armed forces.

The Captains

The match marks a Reading return for Matthaus, who added: “I brought a German team to Reading in 2006 and we beat England 4-2 even though you had Boris Johnson and a great many big stars. I believe we will win again next Thursday.”  

England Captain Paul Gascoigne responded: “There is no way an England team that I am captain of, and that’s playing in tribute to our heroes the day after Remembrance Day, is going to lose this one. They definitely have a strong squad full of big names, but England are going to win next week and we are going to lift the Heroes Cup in salute to our troops”

The Managers

Alan Curbishley noted: “What Help for Heroes is doing for the wounded service people is fantastic and they deserve all the support we can give them. I have had a look at my team and I have got a big squad that already consists of 12 ex-Internationals and sixteen celebrities. I have seen several of the stars play before and I am confident we have the players to beat Lawrie’s World team.”

Former Northern Ireland national coach Lawrie Sanchez will helm the Rest of the World squad. He retorted: “I was originally asked to play, but after looking at the team sheet I said I would rather manage, what is an amazing group of players and stars. I have got players from 13 different nationalities  including  Lothar  Matthaus, one of FIFA’s top ten ranked players of all time . We have a host of German, Italian, Swedish and Home Nations internationals that are going to be a great bunch to manage. It is an honour to be looking after this team and for such an important cause. ”

World Champion boxer Joe Calzaghe concluded: "I am a big supporter of Help for Heroes and what they are doing for all of the wounded troops. This is such a worthwhile cause and it’s great to see so many big names from sport, music and film turning out to play.  It’s also being played at such an important time with it being Remembrance Week next week and with this Sunday and next Wednesday being a time where we all remember the fallen. For it to be played during Poppy Week gives it even more impact and I really hope that the people come along and support this amazing charity. ” 

The match kicks off at 7.45pm on Thursday 12th November. Tickets for the match are available at only £10 adults and £5 children, from the Reading FC Box Office, at www.readingfc.co.uk or by calling 0844 249 1871. For further information about Help for Heroes go to www.helpforheroes.org.uk