Courteeners have been announced as the headline musical act for the 2024 Legends Of Football charity event.
READ MORE: Courteeners’ Liam Fray on ‘St. Jude’ hitting Number One: “We feel pretty blessed”
The Liam Fray-led band will be appearing at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House later this month and are set to perform some of their biggest hits.
Taking place next Monday (October 7), the 2024 edition of the event will see English football greats Wayne Rooney and Fara Williams celebrated for their achievements in the field. With the honour, they join an esteemed list of recipients including Pelé, David Beckham and Arsène Wenger.
Rooney famously played for Manchester United for over 13 years – winning five Premier League titles and personal accolades including several FIFA, PFA and Premier League awards. Williams holds the record for the highest number of appearances with the national team, amassing 172 caps over her 18 year career at international level. She has had success across multiple teams; starting at Everton before eventually moving to Liverpool.
Legends of Football takes place yearly and has so far raised £8.5million for the UK’s largest music therapy charity, Nordoff and Robbins, over 25 years. The charity looks to “break through the barriers caused by life-limiting illness, disability and isolation” by “creating space for people to express themselves and find connection in society”.
At the 2023 edition, Chelsea FC Women’s manager, Emma Hayes and Arsenal legend, Ian Wright were celebrated at the ceremony.
Liam Fray of the Courteeners performs in 2024. CREDIT: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
“Just like music, football is a sport which brings people together so we are honoured to headline Legends of Football 2024,” Courteeners said in a new statement. “As avid football fans, we are excited to celebrate the iconic careers of Wayne Rooney and Fara Williams whilst supporting the incredible work of Nordoff and Robbins. Our new album ‘Pink Cactus Café’ is out on October 25, followed by an arena tour in November.”
As well as Rooney, Williams and the Manchester indie band, other famous faces are set to attend the London event too, in a bid to bring more awareness and raise further funds for the charity.
“I’m thrilled Courteeners have accepted our invitation to perform at this year’s Legends of Football event, honouring two legends of the game – Fara Williams and Wayne Rooney. We’re very excited to see them take the stage on an unforgettable night,” said Legends of Football Chairman, Geoff Shreeves.
Nordoff and Robbins CEO, Sandra Schembri, added: “The Courteeners have been a well-loved band for over 15 years, so we’re very excited that they’ll be headlining at next week’s Legends of Football event.”
Visit here for more information and to book a table at next week’s ceremony.
Liam Fray of Courteeners performs in 2023. CREDIT: Mark Holloway/Redferns/Getty
In other Courteeners news, the band topped the albums charts last year when they reissued their breakthrough 2008 album ‘St. Jude’ LP in celebration of its 15th anniversary. The frontman would later share that the re-release of the record gave the band a boost after the industry had “washed its hands of us”.
Later this month (October 25), Liam Fray and co. are set to release their aforementioned seventh album ‘Pink Cactus Café’. You can pre-order/pre-save it here. They are also hitting the road in November for a number of UK headline dates – visit here for remaining tickets.
According to a press release, ‘Pink Cactus Café’ sees Fray co-producing all tracks and features contributions from the likes of DMA’S, Brooke Combe, James and Ian Skelly (The Coral), Pixey, Charlie Salt (Blossoms), Ola Modupe-Ojo (Bipolar Sunshine) and Theo Hutchcraft (Hurts) amongst many more.
Last month, Liam Fray spoke to NME about the upcoming album, and recalled how it felt different to all of the band’s past releases.
“It did take me somewhere else where I’ve never been with the band, in terms of my approach”, he said, also describing the “psychedelic dream” vibe that underpins ‘Pink Cactus Café.’ “I do feel a lot of pressure, I was scared of failing so much that I forgot to enjoy it. Maybe this album is the embracing of what we do. Relaxed, but still meticulous in the approach.”
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