A HOST of stars from the sports and entertainment world gathered last night at St George’s Hall to raise £1m for charity – and £300,000 towards the Rhys Jones Memorial Fund.

Famous faces including Rafael Benitez, Ray Quinn and Jason McAteer attended the gala dinner for Tsunami Soccer Aid, set up in 2005.

The guests – who also included Rhys’s dad, Steve Jones, 45 – were told how the cash had been spent in Indonesia.

But new plans were also announced to stage three more celebrity matches between now and 2010 and for the charity to be replaced by a new one – CAUSE – Children’s Aid Using Soccer Events.

McAteer’s agent and friend David Lockwood said the new charity aimed to provide £300,000 to the Rhys fund which will pay for young-sters’ football tournaments.

Three years after the first event, in front of 45,000 people at Anfield, where Liverpool legends took on celebrities, the dinner reflected on its achievements. It raised more than £500,000 for Save The Children and every penny went to people affected by the tsunami in Banda Aceh.