Bangkok: Three-time Brazilian World Cup champion Pele will bring a squad of footballing greats to Thailand next month for a charity match to raise funds for tsunami victims, a Thai official said on Thursday.

The likes of France’s Eric Cantona, Argentinian great Claudio Caniggia and Rudi Voller of Germany will team up against former Thai internationals led by local hero Kiatisak ‘Zico’ Senamuang on July 30 in Bangkok.

The all-stars, some of the best in the game at the peak of their careers, will tour tsunami disaster zones along Thailand’s south-west coast, where nearly 5,400 people died and 2,822 remain missing from the December calamity that ravaged coastlines ringing the Indian Ocean.

They are likely to engage in a bit of beach football on the resort island of Phuket and will participate in charity auctions with players selling off their football-related personal effects, Thepitak said.Pele, 64, considered by many to be the greatest of the game, is not expected to strap on his boots but will be on the touchline for the match.

Others joining the cascade of stars include French World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf and Youri Djorkaeff, Voller’s World Cup teammate Andreas Brehme, former Brazil captain Carlos Dunga and Uruguayan midfielder Gustavo Poyet.

Former Asian stars including Japan’s Masami Ihama, South Korea’s Hong Myong-bo will also join at Bangkok’s Supachalasai National Stadium.

(AFP)