The world’s longest 5-a-side football match has netted thousands of pounds for African charities.

The record breaking game, which lasted 26 hours and finished 506-371, kicked off at the Goals Soccer Centre in Beverley Way on Saturday afternoon.

It was played by 16 members of a central London church and is expected to raise around £17,000 for charities, hospitals and orphanages in Kenya.

The clash was kicked off by England rugby star and former Arsenal youth footballer Ugo Monye who refereed the game for its opening ten minutes Player Mike Tufnell said breaking the record was less important than bringing in donations. He said: “It is going to make a massive difference to people in Kenya. These charities do incredible work - that is the really exciting thing.”

Next month a group of 12 young people from match organiser Holy Trinity Brompton Church in Kensington will travel to Kenya, and their trip will include visits to some of the good causes benefiting from the weekend’s game. They include children’s charities Compassion UK and Kenya Children of Hope. The game’s main sponsor, software firm Xchanging, has pledged £12,000.

Mr Tufnell admitted the pace dropped towards the end of the match - but picked up near the final whistle, as his team pushed for their 500th goal.

He said: “The night passed fairly quickly - it was the last five or six hours that really hurt.”

The top scorer was Dave Rawlence - who bagged an impressive 150 goals during the marathon match, which was one hour longer than the previous record holder.

Each team played with three substitutes, although no player was off the pitch for more than an hour. The game was monitored by officials from Guinness World Records.

The players were supported around the clock by friends and family members - some of who kept the teams’ energy levels up with cups of coffee and bacon butties.

To donate to the campaign visit justgiving.com/24hourfootie.

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