"It's motivating him": Fans in stitches as iShowSpeed forces KSI to sing 'Thick Of It' before agreeing to play in the Sidemen Charity match

Olajide "KSI," who is also called JJ, had to sing his song Thick of It on the live stream of IShowSpeed. This was during the end of the Match for Hope stream when KSI's team defeated the other team 6-5 on February 14, 2025.

IShowSpeed and Chunkz played for the losing team, making IShowSpeed feel low because he had not scored during the match.

IShowSpeed then made a statement announcing that he was retiring from playing football and was not going to play again, including at the Sidemen Charity match. But KSI visited the locker room to persuade him to play the Sidemen Charity match.

IShowSpeed suggested that he was willing to play but only on the condition that KSI sing Thick of It on the live stream. KSI agreed but reluctantly and sang a bit before IShowSpeed cut him short and walked off, but did confirm that he would be joining the Sidemen Charity match.

Reacting to the incident, an X user humorously stated:

"he's suffering but it's motivating him"

A user commented:

"Bro getting way in over his forehead"

A user shared a hilarious GIF to demonstrate Speed's reaction, with a caption:

"Exactly reaction"

A comment read:

"Speed always making viral funny moments. He’s genius at this stuff."

A user joked:

"My ears bleed whenever I hear that song playing"

Another user declared:

"Yeah I would have blanked out like speed if I heard that lame s**t"

A comment read:

"Speed unintentionally be unlocking memes"

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About the Sidemen Charity match

Wembley Stadium will host the Sidemen Charity Match on March 8, 2025. IShowSpeed has played at the last two Sidemen Charity matches, and the rivalry between IShowSpeed and KSI is now the fan favorite.

The Sidemen Charity Match has been a huge event, which has grown from modest beginnings in 2016 into a soccer match that has been highly expected between some of the biggest names on YouTube and Twitch.

Each year's match features the seven Sidemen and other online video celebrities playing a team of "YouTube All-Stars."

Previous visitors have been MrBeast, Kai Cenat, and xQc.

The Sidemen Charity Match has also had a record of raising charity funds. The 2023 match contributed a total sum of £2.4 million to support the charities Rays of Sunshine, Teenage Cancer Trust, and Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).

Both KSI and Logan Paul contributed £250,000 for charitable purposes. The 2023 Sidemen Charity Match at London Stadium had 62,000 spectators and broke YouTube viewership records with over 2.5 million viewers watching at the same time.

The event has become the most-watched sports stream in YouTube history.

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About Match for Hope

Match for Hope is an annual charity football match that engages football legends and social media influencers to raise funds for the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation.

The EAA Foundation takes care of out-of-school children. The 2025 Match for Hope was held on February 14 at Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar.

Team KSI x AboFlah beat Team Chunkz x IShowSpeed 6-5. The charitable event managed to collect more than $10.7 million for nonprofit organizations.

Veteran football stars Thierry Henry and Andrea Pirlo along with Alessandro Del Piero and Andres Iniesta and David Silva participated in the 2025 match.

Social media influencers KSI and IShowSpeed together with Chunkz and AboFlah participated in the event.

Adam Waheed scored the winning goal for Team KSI x AboFlah.

EmanSV2 of Team Chunkz x IShowSpeed was awarded Man of the Match after scoring a hat trick.

Arsene Wenger trained Team KSI x AboFlah, while Mauricio Pochettino trained Team Chunkz x IShowSpeed.

The event aired through Chunkz's YouTube channel as well as beIN Sports.

Before kickoff, Rasha Rizk performed live while the halftime show featured American rapper Macklemore.

Apart from the match, Match for Hope was also a week of events, including sports events and a fan zone.