Aston Villa icon Stiliyan Petrov signs up for Northamptonshire charity’s football match

Aston Villa icon Stiliyan Petrov has been announced as the latest celeb to team up for a football match to help improve the lives of children with cancer.

Billy Wingrove will also join his F2 Freestylers co-star Jeremy Lynch on the football pitch at Villa Park Stadium on Sunday, May 22, in a bid to raise funds for the Northamptonshire childhood cancer charity Niamh’s Next Step.

Other celebs set to put their football boots on include the SAS Who Dares Wins presenter Ant Middleton, TOWIE star Dan Osborne and TV personality Calum Best, who is also the son of the Manchester United legend George Best.

Also playing the field will be former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O’Hara, Steps singer Lee Latchford-Evans, ex-Villa player Darren Bent and Love Island contestants Jake Cornish and Brad McClelland.

Actor Nigel Boyle, who played H in Line of Duty, is also in the squad, alongside Fast and Furious star Martyn Ford.

Soap stars Jamie Borthwick and Max Bowden, who play Jay Brown and Ben Mitchell in EastEnders, will reunite on the pitch with some of their former colleagues, including Jake Wood, Dean Gaffney and Danny Walters.

All the celebrities are subject to work commitments.

Founder of Niamh’s Next Step, Chris Curry said: “It is amazing to have the backing from Sellebrity Soccer for the third year in a row.

“We feel honoured to have the support from a star-studded line up of celebrities who are helping us to fund crucial research into childhood cancer in memory of our courageous little girl Niamh. We are hoping people will come together to help us.”

Chris and Sam Curry founded Niamh’s Next Step in 2010 after their youngest daughter was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. In 2012, five-year-old Niamh lost her 18-month long battle with cancer.

Since her death, the charity has raised thousands of pounds and increased awareness of neuroblastoma. The charity now also offers support and advice to children and families affected by it.

The event has been organised by Sellebrity Soccer, which was launched in 2012 to help charities raise money by arranging all-star football matches across the UK.

The game will kick off at 4pm, however doors will be open from 2:30pm.