A collection of many of the greatest football stars of past and present came together in Amsterdam for a glittering night of football to celebrate the remarkable career of Dutch goalkeeping lege nd Edwin van der Sar.

The former Ajax, Juventus, Fulham, Manchester United and Holland footballer, who is a Laureus Ambassador, decided that part of the funds raised from his testimonial would go to support the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in the Netherlands.

His Highness Prince Pieter-Christiaan of Orange, Chairman of Laureus The Netherlands, said: “I would like to thank Edwin most sincerely for his amazing generosity in making this donation. We hope these funds will enable us to organise Laureus football projects in the Netherlands and reach even more young people.”

The roll call of the football giants at the Ajax Arena in Amsterdam who came to pay tribute to Edwin was a clear demonstration of the affection in which he is held.

Three of football’s greatest ever managers, Sir Alex Ferguson, Louis van Gaal and Guus Hiddink, coached three of the teams taking part. Among the current footballers playing were Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Dirk Kuyt, Alessandro del Piero, Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha, Rafael van der Vaart, Nemanja Vidic and Boudewijn Zenden. And past giants included Dennis Bergkamp, Frank and Ronald de Boer, Phillip Cocu, Edgar Davids, Patrick Kluivert, Marc Overmars, Frank Rijkaard and Jaap Stam.

Laureus World Sports Academy Member Bobby Charlton, the former England football legend, now a director of Manchester United, was one of the guests at the match. He said: “It was a wonderful evening and marvellous to see so many great players of the last 20 years in action. It has been a joy to have Edwin at Old Trafford for six years. He is a true gentleman of sport and he always sets a perfect exampl e. For him to agree for funds raised from his testimonial to go to charity does not surprise me at all. That is the kind of man he is. I look forward to working with him in the future on the important work that we do at Laureus to improve the lives of young people around the world.”

Earlier this year Edwin became a Laureus Ambassador, volunteering his time to support the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. He said: “It is a great pleasure for me to be able to share this big day with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which is a cause I believe in passionately. I am delighted the match has raised money which will help Laureus in the work we do using sport to improve the lives of young people in the Netherlands.”

In the main event of the evening a select Ajax team lost 2-1 to a ‘Dream Team Edwin van der Sar’, coached by Mancheste r United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. The Dream Team goals were scored by Everton striker Louis Saha and former Arsenal star Dennis Bergkamp, with Derk Boerrigter scoring for Ajax. There was also a match between the 1995 Ajax team which won the Champions League and the 1998 Holland team which reached the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup, plus a youth match between Ajax and Manchester United, all enjoyed by a 52,000 crowd at the Ajax Arena.

Edwin van der Sar spent eight years with Ajax between 1991 and 1999, making 311 appearances for the club, before moving on to Juventus, Fulham and finally Manchester United. He played his last match before retirement in the Champions League final in May, where Manchester United lost 3-1 to Barcelona.

The Laureus World Sports Academy, a unique association of 47 of the greatest living sporting legends, along with members of the Laureus Ambassadors programme, volunteer their time to act as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, whose mission is to use sport as the means to combat some of the world’s toughest social challenges facing young people today, such as HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, crime, social exclusion, landmines awareness, violence, discrimination and health problems such as obesity.

Since its inception Laureus has raised over €40 million to support projects which have helped to improve the lives of over one-and-a-half million young people. Currently Laureus supports 87 sports-based projects around the world.