Liam Payne once rented out an entire football stadium to train for charity match

Liam Payne was a keen football fan and once rented out an entire stadium just for a kickabout ahead of a charity match. Payne, who rose to fame as a member of , died at the age of 31 on Wednesday after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

One of his biggest passions outside music was football, with Payne making no secret of his love for the beautiful game. He was a supporter of and he also enjoyed putting his boots on and playing with his pals.

Two years ago, the singer rented out a non-league football stadium to practice with some friends ahead of Soccer Aid. He was getting ready to captain the England side in the annual charity match after being called up by Harry Redknapp.

Payne called in a favour from Greg Halford, a journeyman footballer who was playing for Billericay Town at the time. He was granted access to their New Lodge stadium, which boasts a capacity of 5,000, for a kickabout on the pitch.

He ended up playing for about an hour and was left with a bloodied knee at the end of the session with a few of his friends.

At the time, a source told : "Liam asked Greg on the off-chance him and some pals could use the pitch and Greg got the wheels in motion.

"He didn't look too bad considering he has been telling people he's nervous to be captaining England in such a big game. Him and his mates got stuck in and he was left with a bleeding knee but no lasting damage. Liam looked in good nick."

Earlier that week, Payne told fans on Instagram that he needed to 'learn' the game before taking part in Soccer Aid.

"I've been doing some training, getting ready for England," he said. "Come on England! How does a man that doesn't play football, captain the England team?

"It's a big query for all of us isn't it, but we're going to find out. It's been a stressful one learning to play football actually, but it's been a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to the game."

Payne was unable to skipper England to victory, however, with the World XI winning on penalties after a 2-2 draw at the end of the 90 minutes.