AFRICA was on the minds of those taking part in a celebrity soccer game in St Mary Bourne on Sunday morning.

A team of television folk made up of BBC sports presenters took on a village side in the match to help fund a trip to Uganda.

The team was put together by sports presenter Mike Bushell, who lives locally, and who helped to organise a similar successful event last year.

This year the presenters were hoping to raise money for the village church's trip to help a twin village in Uganda - a country still recovering from the ravages of war and the rule of the despot Idi Amin as well the chronic funding problems experienced by most sub-Saharan African countries.

Also in the team was Celina Hinchcliffe who is the new presenter of women's football on BBC1 and who will become a much more familiar face with the public when she hosts this May's coverage of the women's Euro 2005.

For the full report see Friday's Andover Advertiser.