Stars from football, golf, rugby and athletics will unite this weekend as Eurosport is set to broadcast an exciting new tournament, the Solidarity Challenge. The unique event will help raise awareness and donations for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Solidarity Challenge brings together 16 of sport’s highest profile and influential celebrities in an eFootball PES 2020 tournament with the aim of encouraging donations by serving fans with engaging content and unique behind-the-scenes access to international sporting stars. 

Eurosport viewers will be able to see the skills of their favourite football players in action including current and former internationals Antoine Griezmann, Blaise Matuidi, Giorgio Chiellini and Yaya Touré, as well as global sporting icons such as Tommy Fleetwood and Sir Mo Farah, via any platform they choose. 

Fans in more than 75 markets and territories* will be able to tune in to the best of the action via Eurosport 1, broadcast from Saturday 13 – Sunday 14 June, with the knockout fixtures being screened at 22:00 - 23:30 CEST. The Eurosport App will cover all the action from Friday 12 June. Players will battle it out in matches over 21 minutes, including pre and post-match interviews and analysis, with viewers being able to see both the gamer’s screen and the players on camera reacting to in-play moments. 

Trojan Paillot, VP Rights Acquisitions at Eurosport, said: “With the much-anticipated return to live sport, Eurosport has been working creatively with its partners to produce and screen the most interactive and engaging content for fans to enjoy, while protecting the health and safety of our staff as the number one concern. We’re looking forward to treating football fans to a unique experience this weekend with the opportunity to see how their PES skills compare with some of sport’s most internationally recognised names. 

“By harnessing the scale of Eurosport’s channel and platform portfolio to screen the Solidarity Challenge across more than 50 countries in Europe, we will drive as many eyeballs as possible to this significant event and we are proud to help to generate funds for such an important cause as the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.”    

The Solidarity Challenge is the latest in a series of innovative virtual programmes Eurosport has brought to its viewers recently. Last month, Eurosport partnered Global Cycling Network (GCN) to bring an exciting new live series - the Zwift Tour for All – to screens across Europe with interactive experiences available for fans via the GCN app, bringing them closer to the world’s best road cyclists. This weekend, it will also be feeding the passion of motorsport fans by showing the first ever 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual live and on-demand, which features iconic drivers including Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.

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The full list of first-round knock-out fixtures are:

• Antoine Griezmann vs Ludovic Giuly

• Tommy Fleetwood vs Sir Mo Farah

• Steve McManaman vs Robert Pires

• Amandine Henry vs Blaise Matuidi

• Jermaine Jenas vs Liv Cooke

• Danny Care vs Mathieu Bastareaud

• Giorgio Chiellini vs Yaya Touré

• Scott McTominay vs Louis Saha

The full tournament includes 15 Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 (PES) matches taking place from Friday 12 – Sunday 14 June. 

*Covering all markets in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East excluding the UK, where coverage is available via the Eurosport App only