Entertainment

Why One Direction Started Playing Soccer

by Jenny Jaffe

Unless you're a "Directioner", you may be wondering why #TeamNiall is trending on Facebook today- is One Direction a Twilight thing now? What's going on?

Even if you're not a Directioner, you might know One Direction as the once-cherubic boy band that's grown into a quintet of handsome young men with some real musical chops, or you might know them as that annoying band your younger cousins are really into, or you might know them as OMG ONE DIRECTION!, but you probably have never known them as a football (or soccer, ) team!

That's right, just for today, the guys of One Direction are switching out their casual-yet-trendy converse and saddle shoes for cleats as they take on the Derby County Football Club in Leicester City's King Power Stadium. Tickets for the event sold out almost instantly, which is exciting considering that the proceeds will go to charity, benefitting two of Niall's favorite causes, Irish Autism Action and UK Heart and Minds Challenge. Also on the team are British celebrities like Jack Whitehall and Piers Morgan, but of course, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson are the real stars here.

The boys seem to be doing pretty well, too. Styles even scored the first goal for his team! Unfortunately, Malik has been relegated to bench-warming. Come on, guys, put him in! You wouldn't want him to have to make this face!

Good luck to One Direction and their teammates! We'll be rooting for you, even though when the ticket sales go to charity, everyone wins.

Images: giphy.com