The American and global soccer community, along with stars and celebrities from throughout the sports and entertainment worlds, are uniting for the first time ever to help people in the Greater Houston area affected by Hurricane Harvey through the Kick In For Houston celebrity soccer match.
The match will be hosted by Dynamo Legend and FOX Sports analyst Stuart Holden and Dynamo Charities, the charitable arm of Holden’s hometown Houston Dynamo. Holden will captain one of the teams in the celebrity match, which will take place on Saturday, November 18 at 6 p.m. at BBVA Compass Stadium. All net proceeds will benefit the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund established by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett.
“After the devastation of the storm passed, I was inspired by how the Houston community came together to support each other,” Holden said. “It’s a community that welcomed me when my family immigrated from Scotland when I was 10 and gave me my first real chance at professional soccer with the Houston Dynamo,” Holden said. “While I am thankful that my family’s homes were spared, I wanted to find a way to help the thousands who were not as fortunate. I sent a tweet out on social media and a groundswell of support materialized throughout the soccer community from former teammates and some of the biggest names in US Soccer today. I’m beyond excited to bring this event to Houston and think we have the opportunity to make a huge difference in the community in partnership with Dynamo Charities.”
General admission tickets are on sale now at KickInForHouston.com at $30 per ticket. Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash season ticket members and partners will have an exclusive presale window in which they can purchase a limited number of reserved and premium seating options before those go on sale to the general public.
The top-notch roster features international legends with multiple championship titles, including the Men’s and Women’s World Cup, MLS Cup and UEFA Champions League. A number of notable names from across sports and entertainment, including television personalities, YouTube personalities; baseball, basketball and football stars; artists and musicians will round out the two squads.
Among the stars scheduled to appear in the match are Houston Dynamo all-time leading scorer Brian Ching, U.S. Men’s National Team legends Landon Donovan, Alexi Lalas and Taylor Twellman, Houston native and seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, YouTube sensation Jake Paul and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash.
“This game will be a great opportunity for us in the soccer community to come together for a great cause and do something great for people in need,” Ching said. “Having spent most of my professional career here in Houston and representing this community, I am proud to work with Stu and Dynamo Charities to put this event together for our city.”
In addition to the on-field excitement, the celebrities and legends will join together in community service initiatives leading up to the event. Fans will also have the opportunity to bid on exclusive VIP experiences and memorabilia items to further benefit people in need following the hurricane.
FOX Sports’ Kick In For Houston presentation features linear and digital coverage across FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports GO on Sunday, November 19 at 1:30 PM ET, with two encores in November on FS1. For the first time ever, FOX Sports offers match coverage across multiple social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Additional celebrities scheduled to play, along with information about additional fundraising opportunities associated with the match, will be announced in the coming days.
