Just don’t call it a friendly! The oldest rivalry in international football is coming to Dubai on February 28 in the form of a legends match featuring some of England and Scotland’s most familiar players.

In the third installment of this exciting annual series at the JA Centre of Excellence, stars like Teddy Sheringham, Lee Clark, Andy Goram and John Collins will face-off in what was a match to first take place in 1872 in London (scroll down to see the line-up on that day).

The Legends Game, which kicks off at 3pm on Friday February 28, is the main event on a day of football which includes your chance to enter a team into a 5-a-side tournament, which is open to all age groups and ability levels and costs Dhs800 for eight players. 

Entrance to watch the showpiece is free, while food, beverage and entertainment stalls will be dotted around the ground.

“We’re delighted to have top ex-players play at our ground and provide the local community a chance to compete as well,” said Derek Whyte, from the Centre of Excellence. “We know that when England and Scotland clash in football it’s always going to be a competitive game with committed support both on the pitch and from both sets of supporters.”

The full list of players taking part can be found below.

England Line Up: Dave Beasant, Des Walker, Seth Johnson, Paul Walsh, Lee Hendrie, Trevor Sinclair, Lee Sharpe, Dale Gordon, Gavin McCann, Teddy Sheringham, Peter Reid, Chris Brown, Lee Bowyer 

Scotland Line Up: Andy Goram, John Collins, Derek Whyte, Richard Gough, Brian O’Neil, Charlie Miller, John Wark, Scott Booth, Eoin Jess, Andy McLaren, Robbie Winters, John Houston, Corin Dougall, Colin Manson, Paul Griffin, John O’Neill, Gary McSwegan

And in 1872… you will see formations with 14 attacking players, yet the game still ended 0-0.

SCOTLAND (2-2-6):  Robert W. Gardner (c); William Ker,  Joseph Taylor; James Thomson, James Smith; Robert Smith, Robert Leckie, Alexander Rhind, Billy MacKinnon, Jerry Weir, David Wotherspoon (All of Queen’s Park)

ENGLAND (1-1-8): Robert Barker (Hertfordshire Rangers); Ernest Greenhalgh (Notts County); Reginald de Courtenay Welch (Harrow Chequers), Frederick Chappell (Oxford University), William Maynard (1st Surrey Rifles), John Brockbank (Cambridge University), Charles Clegg (Sheffield Wednesday), Arnold Kirke-Smith (Oxford University), Cuthbert Ottaway (Oxford University) (c), Charles Chenery (Crystal Palace),Charles Morice (Barnes).

If you fancy taking part in the 5-a-side game on Legends day, contact Chris Brown  on (05) 5296 2963 or email chris@itsjustfootball.com