A host of footballers, coaches, managers and officials have joined forces for a poetic tribute to the 1914 Christmas Truce.
Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany, Gary Neville and Sir Trevor Brooking are just some of the names who recited lines for a video that will appear on FootballRemembers.com on Christmas Day - commemorating 100 years since soldiers on both sides of No Man's Land are said to have taken a festive respite from the horrors of the First World War by playing football.
QPR striker Charlie Austin and former England boss Steve McClaren also deliver parts of t he poem, which was composed by Ian McMillan and was inspired by the thoughts of the 320 young footballers who represented all 20 Premier League clubs at the Christmas Truce Tournament in Ypres, Belgium, last month.
The Premier League and the Poetry Society combined to document how the under-12 starlets felt as they were taken around Commonwealth and German memorials during the trip.
Barnsley-born poet McMillan then reviewed their observations and wrote 'The Game: Christmas Day 1914', which was premiered in the Houses of Parliament on December 9 when it was read by two of the pre-teen Liverpool players.
A total of 17 famous faces from within the game, including former referee Howard Webb and Millwall manager Ian Holloway, have now lent their voices to it for the video.
The Premier League, Football League and Football Association are all represented in the homage, which brings the Football Remembers initiative to a close.
The scheme, which was devised by all three organisations in partnership with the British Council, has also seen a permanent monument to the Christmas Truce erected at the National Memorial Arboretum and t ens of thousands of professional and grassroots footballers taking joint team-photos for FootballRemembers.com.
The poem recital, along with an archive of 11,000 team photos, will be handed to the British Library as a record of football in 2014.
Source: PA
