The Sidemen Charity Match could be heading overseas, according to Vikram “Vikkstar” Singh Barn. Speaking on Dexerto’s Clickbaited show, Vikkstar discussed the event’s growth, its impact on football fans, and the possibility of hosting the match outside the UK.
Back at the 2023 edition of the Sidemen charity match sparked a surge in searches for the offside rule, after a Kai Cenat disallowed goal led to confusion among international viewers, particularly those in the US.
“What a goal, by the way,” Vikkstar said. “I think the first goal of the game was an absolutely perfect execution of scoring a goal from Kai Cenat – unfortunately, offside. And I guess a lot of his viewers were probably international from America. They don’t understand the offside rule. So like, ‘what is this? Is this even a real rule? Why is that not counted?’”
He highlighted how this confusion demonstrated the match’s broad appeal. “It shows what the Sidemen Charity Match does for this sport,” he said. “We’re creating an event for people that don’t even know the offside rules. And how fun and exciting is that to be able to put on a football event that you’re going to sell out 90,000 tickets at Wembley Stadium for?”
Sidemen Charity match in the US?
With Wembley Stadium selling out yet again, Vikkstar acknowledged the growing demand and hinted at new venues.
“There’s an option to take it up north, and you know, Old Trafford, maybe give love to the UK fans not in London, or take it overseas to different regions,” he said. “It wouldn’t be quite the same. And, you know, there’s no feeling like an English crowd, as everyone says. But it is still something that can do a lot of good, get a lot of eyeballs, raise a lot of money for great causes.”
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Creator vs Pro Players
Vikkstar also weighed in on the debate surrounding creators and professional players in charity matches.
“With events like Soccer Aid, it depends on what they’re trying to do,” he explained. “They made it clear they were really trying to bring on the audience of creators this year by, you know, creating a huge amount of media publications about Sidemen to play. But then they should have reflected that in letting him play more on the pitch.”
He added that mixing pro players and creators doesn’t always work. “In our experience, mixing pro players and creators doesn’t always go well. It doesn’t always create the most entertaining product,” he said. “I think the last match, the pros did a really good job of making it kind of fun and engaging, but it can go either way because, you know, professional footballers are there to score. That’s what they’ve done their whole life. They’re maybe not so much there to create fun moments, but it’s important to find the balance between the two.”
As the Sidemen consider expanding their flagship football event, fans eagerly await details on future matches. Whether in the UK or abroad, the event continues to grow in popularity, raising significant funds for charity.
The 2025 Sidemen Charity Match raised over £4.7 million for various charities, including BBC Children in Need, Sidemen’s Bright Side, and M7 Education.
You can watch the full Vikkstar episode of Dexerto’s Clickbaited show on YouTube.
Content shared from www.dexerto.com.