Liam Payne revealed how his son Bear inspired his Soccer Aid appearance – with charity event ‘devastated’ following One Direction star’s death age 31
Liam Payne had told how his son Bear inspired him to play in Soccer Aid, as the annual charity event praised his contribution following the One Direction star’s death at the age of 31.
Payne died in Buenos Aires after falling from a hotel. Several witnesses said Payne fell from his room at the Casa Sur Palmero Hotel shortly after 5:00 PM (ART) on Wednesday evening.
The former One Direction star made two appearances at Soccer Aid, which raised money for UNICEF – United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
He captained England in his first appearance in 2022 before returning for a second time last year.
Ahead of the 2023 event, Payne told how his son Bear had proven to be the inspiration behind his performance.
Liam Payne appeared at Soccer Aid in both 2022 and 2023 to raise money for UNICEF
The One Direction star was chosen as captain of the England team at the 2022 charity event
Payne had spoken about how his son Bear had inspired him to participate in the event
“We are extremely lucky that Bear is living the life he does because of what me and his mother have done for him,” Payne said.
“When I started looking at it through the eyes of a father and watching those movies, imagining your child in that scenario doesn’t suit anyone.
‘For me it is extremely important to help, making a fool of myself on a football field feels like the best way to do that.
‘What we want for every child here with what we do for Football Aid for Unicef: he gets the right to play, every child deserves that. I think it’s what you want to do all your life: to still feel like a kid as you go along.
‘It’s just such a great cause. It’s great to be back here. The money we raise is used to combat real problems such as malnutrition.’
Payne had followed his former One Direction star bandmates Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson as they performed at Soccer Aid, with the duo previously playing in 2016, but admitted he needed three months of training to play.
“It took me three months to learn,” Payne said. ‘For me, the transition to football is a role that I can play for a number of months.
‘I put my — into everything I do, I trained twice a day, six times a week. It’s crazy to learn to play football.’
Soccer Aid paid tribute to Payne on social media, saying it was “devastated” to hear of his death
Payne led an England team in 2022 that included Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Joe Cole and Teddy Sheringham, with legends Cafu and Roberto Carlos among those in the World XI team.
Soccer Aid released their own tribute to Payne on Thursday following his tragic death.
“Everyone at Soccer Aid for UNICEF is devastated to hear of the sad passing of Liam Payne,” a statement said.
‘Liam captained England in 2022 and returned for the 2023 match to play for a second time. Thank you for all you have done to help children around the world, Liam.
“The thoughts of everyone at Soccer Aid for UNICEF are with Liam’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.”
Payne’s youth football club West Brom had previously paid their own tribute to the singer.
The Championship football club shared a tribute to the singer on X, who had previously expressed his support for the team.
“We are shocked and saddened by the passing of Baggies fan and musician Liam Payne,” West Brom wrote. “Our thoughts are with Liam’s family, friends and loved ones at this tragic time.”
West Brom have joined in paying tribute to Liam Payne following his death at the age of 31
The Championship club’s tribute included a photo of him watching a match at the Hawthorns
West Brom’s tribute included a photo of the star during one of the team’s matches at the Hawthorns.
The English star rose to fame as a member of boy band One Direction, alongside his former bandmates Harry, 30, Niall Horan, 31, Zayn Malik, 31, and Louis Tomlinson, 32.
The pop star reportedly arrived in the Latin American country earlier this month to attend his ex-bandmate Horan’s concert.
Local police have since launched an investigation into the sudden death, as tributes flood in the aftermath of the tragedy.
According to a statement from local police, they arrived at the hotel after being “informed of an aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs and alcohol.”
Officials heard a loud noise in the courtyard before discovering his body just after 5 p.m., the BBC reported.
According to TMZLiam ‘had behaved erratically in the hotel lobby and destroyed his laptop’ before he had to be ‘carried back to his room’.
The 31-year-old rose to fame on XFactor in 2010 with former bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, despite initially auditioning separately
He previously dated British pop sensation Cheryl Cole and the couple welcomed their son Bear Gray on March 22, 2017.
Police had received a call from a hotel employee requesting urgent assistance for a drunken guest, according to audio material on the case obtained from Buenos Aires’ Ministry of Security.
“If he’s conscious, he’ll destroy the whole room and we’ll have to send someone,” the worker said.
Emergency Medical Services Director Alberto Crescenti said Liam suffered “very serious injuries after falling from a third floor into a courtyard.”
“We verified his identity using the passport he had,” he said.
‘Afterwards we found out that he had been a famous singer. Unfortunately, the injuries he sustained as a result of the fall proved fatal. There was no way to resuscitate him.”
In 2008, Liam started his music career after auditioning for The X Factor at the age of 14, in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue.
Payne’s final Snapchat posts have also been revealed not long after his tragic death, with him posing with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, just minutes before he ‘fell off a balcony’
One image showed both Liam and Kate pausing for a mirror selfie together, as well as another post in which he looked into the camera and typed: ‘Beautiful day in Argentina’
He was removed from the competition series but returned in 2010 and joined Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson to form the boy band One Direction.
The group reached third place on The X Factor and became a global sensation, with hits such as What Makes You Beautiful and Live While We’re Young.
The band released five studio albums including Up All Night (2011), Midnight Memories (2013) and Made In The AM (2015) following Malik’s departure from the group.
In 2016, One Direction went on a never-ending hiatus.
As a solo artist, Payne dropped singles like For You with Rita Ora for the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack.
Over the years, Liam has also struggled with health problems, alcoholism and suicidal thoughts.
In 2021, while on the Diary Of A CEO podcast, he opened up about suffering from depression and substance abuse during his time with One Direction.
‘I was afraid of how far my lowest point would go. Where is the low point for me? And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it. No one would have ever seen it.’
Over the years, Liam has also struggled with health problems, alcoholism and suicidal thoughts; seen in 2021 in London
When the host wondered if Liam’s dark thoughts included “suicidal thoughts,” the singer said, “Yes.”
‘Yes. There are some things that I have absolutely never, ever talked about. It was really, really bad. It was a problem. And it wasn’t until I saw myself afterwards that I thought, ‘Okay, I have to fix myself.’
Payne recalled seeing photos of him looking “bloated,” which he labeled as his “pills-and-booze face.”
‘My face looked about ten times the way it looks now. I just didn’t like myself that much, and then I made a change.”