Liam Payne had spoken of how his son Bear had inspired him to feature in Soccer Aid, as the annual charity event hailed his contribution following the One Direction star's death aged 31.

Payne died in Buenos Aires after falling from a hotel. Several witnesses said Payne had fallen from his room at the Casa Sur Palmero Hotel shortly after 5pm (ART) Wednesday evening.

The former One Direction star had twice featured at Soccer Aid, which raising funds for UNICEF - United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.

He captained England on his first appearance in 2022, before returning for the second time last year.

Ahead of the 2023 event, Payne spoke about how his son Bear had proved the inspiration behind his appearance.

'We are extremely lucky that Bear has the life that he has in what me and his mum have done for him,' Payne said. 

'When I started to watch it through a father's eyes and watching those films, imagining your child in that scenario, doesn't sit well with anyone.

'For me being to help out that is a huge thing, making a fool of myself on a football pitch feels like the best way to do it.

'What we want for every child here with what we do for Soccer Aid for Unicef: he gets the right to play, every child deserves that. I think it's what you want to do for your whole life is still feel like a child as you go on.

'It's just such a great charity. It's great to be back here. The money we're raising is used to fight real-world problems like malnutrition.'

Payne had followed his former One Direction star band mates Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson in featuring at Soccer Aid, with the duo previously playing in 2016, but admitted he needed three months of training to play.

'I've had to learn for three months,' Payne said. 'Jumping into football is like a role for me that I get to play for a certain amount of months. 

'I put my --- into everything that I do, I was training twice a day, six times a week. It's crazy to learn how to play football.'

Payne captained an England team in 2022 that included the likes of Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Joe Cole and Teddy Sheringham, with legends Cafu and Roberto Carlos among those on the World XI team. 

Soccer Aid issued their own tribute to Payne on Thursday following his tragic death. 

'Everyone at Soccer Aid for UNICEF is devastated to learn of the sad passing of Liam Payne,' a statement read.

'Liam captained England in 2022 and returned for the 2023 match to play a second time. Thank you for everything you did to help support children around the world, Liam.

'The thoughts of everyone at Soccer Aid for UNICEF are with Liam's family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.'

Payne's boyhood football club West Brom had earlier paid their own tribute to the singer.

The Championship football club shared a tribute on X to the singer, who had previously spoken of his support for the team.

'We're shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Baggies fan and musician, Liam Payne,' West Brom wrote. 'Our thoughts are with Liam's family, friends and loved ones at this tragic time.'

West Brom's tribute included a photo of the star at one of the team's matches at the Hawthorns.

The English star rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction, alongside his former bandmates Harry, 30, Niall Horan, 31, Zayn Malik, 31, and Louis Tomlinson, 32.

The popstar had reportedly arrived in the Latin American country earlier this month to attend his ex bandmate Horan's concert.

Local police have since launched an investigation into the sudden death, as tributes flood in the wake of the tragedy.

A statement from local police said they arrived to the hotel after they were 'informed of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol'.

Officials heard a loud sound in the courtyard before discovering his body just after 5pm, reported the BBC.

According to TMZ, Liam 'had been acting erratic in the hotel lobby and smashed his laptop' before he 'had to be carried back to his room'.

Police had received a call from a worker at the hotel requesting urgent help with an intoxicated guest, according to audio related to the case obtained from the Buenos Aires security ministry.

'When he is conscious he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone,' the worker said.

Emergency medical services director Alberto Crescenti said Liam had suffered 'very serious injuries after falling from a third floor into an internal courtyard'.

'We verified his identity using the passport he had,' he said.

'Afterwards we found out he had been a famous singer. Unfortunately the injuries he had suffered as a result of the fall proved to be fatal. There was no possibility of resuscitating him.' 

In 2008, Liam kickstarted his music career after auditioning on The X Factor when he was just 14-years-old in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue.

He was cut from the competition series but returned in 2010, and joined Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson to form the boy band, One Direction.

The group won third place on The X Factor and went on to become a global sensation, with hits such as What Makes You Beautiful and Live While We're Young.

The band released five studio albums, including Up All Night (2011), Midnight Memories (2013) and Made In The A.M. (2015) following Malik's departure from the group.

In 2016, One Direction went on an infinite hiatus.

As a solo artist, Payne dropped singles such as For You with Rita Ora for the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack.

Over the years, Liam has also battled with health struggles as well as alcoholism and suicidal thoughts.

In 2021, while on the Diary Of A CEO podcast, he opened up about suffering from depression and substance abuse during his time with One Direction.

'I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where's rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I'm very good at hiding it. No one would ever have seen it.'

When host questioned if Liam's dark thoughts included 'suicidal ideation,' the singer said 'Yes.'

'Yeah. There is some stuff that I have definitely never, never spoken about. It was really, really, really severe. It was a problem. And it was only until I saw myself after that I was like, "Right, I need to fix myself."'

Payne recalled seeing photos of himself looking 'bloated' which he labeled as his 'pills-and-booze face.'

'My face was just, like, 10 times more than it is now. I just didn’t like myself very much, and then I made a change.'