Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher teams up with Boy George as Football For Change gala returns

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Keir Starmer praises Jamie Carragher and Trent Alexander-Arnold for their charity work

Football For Change, the charitable initiative launched by Jamie Carragher, will return for its 2025 fundraising gala in November, with pop icon Boy George headlining.

Liverpool legend Carragher will be present on the night as Boy George and the Culture Club perform alongside Ella Henderson in an event hosted by Bolton comedian Paddy McGuinness.

Former Liverpool and Everton defender Conor Coady, also one of the founders of the charity, is expected to be in attendance alongside a host of other sports stars.

Launched in 2021, FFC will be looking to add to the £1.2m already raised for a wide range of initiatives aimed at improving the lives of young people across the UK and the organisation is once more expected to tap into its roster of big-name supporters, which has previously included legendary former Reds skipper Steven Gerrard, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harvey Elliott, who completed a loan move to Aston Villa on transfer deadline day.

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The 2024 event saw Carragher host a Q&A session with then Reds vice captain Alexander-Arnold at the Titanic Hotel, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also lending his backing to the social mobility charity via a pre-recorded video to kick off the night.

Carragher, who chairs Football For Change, said: "When you see icons like Boy George and Ella Henderson joining us, along with so many footballers and supporters, it shows how far the annual Football For Change gala has come.

"This is one night in the annual calendar that footballers, business and celebrities come together to change young lives.

This is about giving young people who've had tough starts in life the chance to build better futures.

This gala is not just a night to celebrate what we’ve achieved - but to go further and do even more.”

Last year, a handful of Liverpool-related prizes were auctioned off, with a meet-and-greet with the squad at the club's AXA Training Centre, that included a private breakfast for three with head coach Arne Slot, fetching £5,000.

A 'VIP experience' in Alexander-Arnold's Anfield box for a fixture later that season, that also included a meeting with the England international after the match, brought in £8,000, while afternoon tea with former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch and his wife Abbey Clancy, at The Dorchester in London, earned the charity £12,000.

A behind-the-scenes experience of the Stick to Football podcast that includes a meet-and-greet with Carragher, Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott earned £5,000, while prizes involving trips to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Tyson Fury's rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia earned a combined total close to £25,000.

FFC's annual event aims to unite international footballers, business leaders, and celebrities in a major fundraising effort to support young people affected by social and economic disadvantages.

The initiative focuses on raising awareness and funds to help transform the lives of young people through education, mentorship, training, and sports programmes, while last year's event also raised funds that helped keep Zoe's Place in West Derby afloat after the vital children's hospice was threatened with closure.

Previous events have been supported by the likes of Gerrard and Wayne Rooney and last year's gala was sponsored by property developer Legacie, SHEIN and Destinology holidays.

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Football For Change has funded life-changing education and sports retreats abroad for over 200 disadvantaged young people, helped bridge the digital divide by providing laptops and equipment for students from low-income households, and backed more than 50 grassroots organisations delivering training, education, and mentoring.

FFC has also funded the development of an education hub in Bootle, supported homeless young people in Glasgow into work and accommodation, and awarded grants of up to £10,000 for innovative youth-led projects - making a measurable difference in communities that need it most.