Jonathan Wilkes Reveals Who Founded Soccer Aid With Robbie Williams

Jonathan Wilkes said who founded Soccer Aid: he and Robbie Williams came up with it in 2006, after an idea they had by a swimming pool in Los Angeles. Wilkes later stopped playing in the charity match after his last appearance in 2017 because a recurring hamstring injury made the football side of the event harder to sustain.

Los Angeles in 2006

Wilkes and Williams created the event 20 years ago, and the money raised goes to UNICEF. That origin matters because Soccer Aid has grown into a fixture, but Wilkes describes it as a project that began as a conversation between childhood friends rather than a formal football venture.

He grew up in Stoke-on-Trent with Williams, and the two were housemates when they moved to London. Wilkes has also said of their friendship: "It does not matter if we have not spoken for months and months, we just go back to the old routine."

Wilkes after 2017

Wilkes played six times for England in Soccer Aid before his last match in 2017 ended that part of his involvement. The recurring hamstring injury pushed him away from the pitch and toward the behind-the-scenes work that still keeps him tied to the event.

He remains heavily involved in the organization and promotion of Soccer Aid, so the change was not a clean exit from the brand he helped build. For readers following the charity match, the practical takeaway is simple: Wilkes no longer appears as a player, but he is still part of the machinery that keeps the fundraiser visible.

From football to television

Before fame, Wilkes played football professionally, signed for Port Vale FC aged seven, and played for Everton FC as a teenager. He later became best known for presenting Stars In Their Eyes, and also reached number 24 with his single Just Another Day.

He married Nikki in 2004 in Los Angeles, and they have two sons, Mickey and Ralph. That background fits the Soccer Aid story neatly: the co-founder who once played the game now handles the promotion, while the match itself keeps raising money for UNICEF.