Soccer legends impress fans at 2024 Nexon Icons Match

More than 4 million fans gathered to watch a match featuring legendary soccer players hosted by Nexon, the game developer that published the FIFA Online series, the firm said Friday.

For the Nexon Icons Match event, held at Seoul World Cup Stadium from Oct. 19-20, players were split into two teams -- former forwards played for FC Spear while defenders joined Shield UTD. A total of 64,210 fans attended the event, many of whom wore the players’ classic uniforms.

The event drew an online viewership of around 3.6 million, with the number of concurrent viewers peaking at 270,000. The match's exclusive broadcaster MBC, recorded a 3.5 percent audience rating.

On the first day, Shield UTD emerged victorious, winning two of the three mini-games.

In the first game, Edwin van der Sar’s impressive goalkeeping kept the team ahead. Yaya Toure helped secure the second win against Didier Drogba in the second game, which involved kicking the ball through Styrofoam panels, by smashing seven panels. FC Spear claimed the final mini-game, with Del Piero showing his exceptional shooting.

A portion of the ticket sales, totaling 100 million won ($71,900), was donated to the Nexon Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital under the name Shield UTD.

On Sunday, Shield UTD triumphed in the main match once again, scoring four goals.

Yaya Toure made the first goal before half-time, followed by Clarence Seedorf's long-range goal. Park Joo-ho scored another goal in the second half, with Javier Mascherano adding the fourth. Near the end, FC Spear’s coach, Park Ji-sung, scored the team’s first goal from a penalty kick.

One fan remarked, “It was incredible to watch soccer legends I’ve admired since childhood. I hope Nexon hosts more events like this.”

“The Icon Match brought together famous soccer legends from around the world, delighting both gamers and soccer fans. I look forward to organizing more events that connect soccer with gaming,” said Park Jung-moo, head of Nexon’s FC Group.