India captain Baichung Bhutia has been invited to take part in the Laureus Football Challenge on February 7. The star-studded line-up will see Baichung locking horns with stars like Edgar Davids, Marcel Desailly, Dwight Yorke, Steve McManaman and many more.
The first-ever Laureus Football Challenge will be part of the 2011 Laureus World Sports Awards in Abu Dhabi. The Laureus Football Challenge will be a prestige seven-a-side match of two halves of 30 minutes each, played between two all-star teams. On the sidelines giving their support will be Laureus World Sports Academy Members and football legends Franz Beckenbauer and Bobby Charlton, who famously played against each other in the England vs West Germany 1966 FIFA World Cup final.
The latest all-star roster:
Mohammed Abdullaziz Al Deayea (Saudi Arabia), Vitor Baia (Portugal), Thomas Berthold (Germany), Baichung Bhutia (India), Ronald de Boer (Netherlands), Fernando Couto (Portugal), Edgar Davids (Netherlands), Marcel Desailly (France), Ivan Helguera (Spain), Steve McManaman (England), Pauleta (Portugal), Lucas Radebe (South Africa), Manuel Sanchis (Spain), Dwight Yorke (Trinidad & Tobago).
The Laureus Football Challenge will kick-off at 12:30 local time, just hours before the Laureus Awards Ceremony, at the Emirates Palace Hotel. The Laureus World Sports Awards is considered as the OSCAR of the sports world.