Lionel Messi, widely accepted as the world’s best soccer player, will take part in a charity match in Colombia June 21.
The match, named “Messi and his friends vs. The rest of the world, the battle of the stars,” will include Colombian stars Radamal Falcao (Atletico Madrid), James Rodriguez (F.C. Porto), and Mario Yepes (A.C. Milan).
Also gracing the pitch will be some of South America’s greatest talent, including Messi’s Barcelona teammates Dani Alves and Alexis Sanchez, Diego Forlan, Julio Cesar and Lucio of Inter Milan, and Ezequiel Lavezzi of Napoli. Argentine veteran Ariel Ortega will also take part, while Geovanni Hernandez, of Colombian champions Junior, will represent the Liga Postobon.
All of the proceeds from ticket sales at Bogota’s El Campin stadium will go towards children’s foundations in Colombia. 85% will go towards the charity nominated by the winning team, the remaining 15% going to the opposition’s foundation of choice.
Tickets will range from about $50 to $565 and organizer Barco Andres, president of Total Entertainment, said they expect to raise nearly $3.5 million.
Charities can register for free at info@totalconciertos.com. Participating charities will be chosen via a lottery at a dinner with the players the day before the game.