Football stars add magic to final

Football super stars from near and far has gathered at the LSK hall in Lillestrøm, just outside Oslo, on Saturday 8 October to take part in the MTG United for Peace’s celebrity football matches. Along with a few more humble players, who can’t resist the temptation of playing with their heroes. 

The teams from Rosenborg, Lillestrøm, Manchester United, Vålerenga, Norway and the mixed players in the MTG All Stars team are here to share their love of football. They’re here to prove that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from to become really good at football. The crucial thing is determination, talent and to practice. Practice a lot. But the famous footballers are also here to give the audience, especially the children participating in the football tournament, something to cherish for the future. 

A lot of the retired football superstars have thrown their weight behind our cause at MTG United for Peace by working as our peace ambassadors; others have joined the game because they feel our manifest for peace is important. But mainly, of course, it’s all about the joy of football. One of the players who has travelled the furthest is Mamadou Diallo,who has played for teams from all over the world. But he doesn’t seem to mind:

“I’m very happy to be here today to take part in something so important. I have watched Ghana play here and I feel that for African countries in particular an organisation like this can make a big change. So if my trip here will make a difference for these children, I’m happy to travel as far as they will let me!” Mamadou says. “It’s also great to be back, I played for Lillestrøm ten years ago and it is nice to meet old friends and reminisce!”

Mamadou is known for being a prolific scorer and today he doesn’t make anyone disappointed, scoring no less than nine goals out of Lillestrøms ten in total. An absolutely gob smacking result. 

As much as the children are enjoying watching the stars play, quite a few of them can’t sit still for very long before the urge to go and play themselves gets too big. 

“It is great to see that they are playing all the time. Not just when they are competing, but all the time in between matches and even now, during the celebrity game I can see them playing on the other side. Where do they get the energy from?” says ex football pro Frank Stapleton with a big smile. “It shows how football can bring everyone together! It’s great to see how much they love to play!” 

“That’s the great thing about football”, agrees Mini Jakobsen, legendary Norwegian player. “You can travel anywhere, just can just show up in Kenya or anywhere where someone is playing and just say: ‘Hey, can I join in?’” And you can! Football opens new doors; it makes it easy to make friends and the most important thing, it gives everyone so much joy. That’s the great thing about football, having fun!”  

Frank Stapleton, who is Irish, used to play for Arsenal and has now joined forces with his old teammates in Manchester United:   

“I’ve had plenty of entertainment today, especially whilst sat down in between the game”, he says with a booming laughter. “We are old men now, I’m speaking about myself here, but we still enjoy playing and being active. I’ve been playing football as a profession for 20 odd years.” 

Friendly bantering is something football is renowned for, and Hans-Holger Albrecht, MTG’s president and captain of the MTG All Star team, sees it as an honour to play alongside the players he admires: 

“Playing with these guys for me is a dream come true, as it would be for anyone interested in football. My teammates Bobic and the Norwegians and old Man United players, what can I say? I am so happy we’ve got so many players working as peace ambassadors for our cause, it’s very supportive of them!”

Fredi Bobic, who’s Slovene and has played for clubs in the German Bundesliga, is chatting to the young players and signing autographs: 

“It’s very good when a company tries to do something worthwhile, and especially for kids. Because, you know, all kids haven’t got a good life and if we can make a difference, that’s great. I’m proud to be here. It’s a pleasure – and a great cause!” 

 “The greatest result of MTG United for Peace cup is that the kids will now go home to their countries telling everyone about how much fun they’ve had”, says MTG United for Peace’s chairman and also ex professional footballer Jan Åge Fjørtoft. “That will hopefully spread and our organisation might be able to bring fun and education to even more countries and teams for next year!”   

Who won? Does it really matter? All right then, after a tough final Rosenborg managed to show MTG All Stars how real football is played. And minutes later, there were quite a few young footballers imitating their idols around the pitch.