Capello's trip to Lesotho

Stronger links
Capello jetted into the southern African country for a two-day stay to see the work being carried out under the auspices of the project, which was signed by UEFA and its African counterpart, the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), eleven years ago to help forge stronger links between European and African football.

Traditional welcome
After a traditional welcome at Lesotho Football Association headquarters in the capital, Maseru, Capello looked on as English FA coaches delivered a training session to local schoolteachers and pupils as part of a three-year commitment to the country in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the first-ever to be held in Africa.

'Worthwhile scheme'
"This is a worthwhile scheme and I feel it is important I'm seen not only on TV but also on the pitch supporting serious and worthwhile projects like this one," Capello told the FA website. "It is really good to be here and to see the children play and to see the English coaches train local coaches to do a job that will be very important and will bear fruit a bit further down the line."

Raise awareness
The English FA's international relations programme aims to deliver at least two projects annually to its trio of partner associations, and has offered help in areas such as administration and refereeing in more than a decade of co-operation. However, in a region ravaged by disease, some of the most important assistance has come in the battle to raise public awareness of HIV and AIDS.

'Football must help'
"Football must be concerned with these things and must help," said Capello, who was accompanied on the trip by Ray Clemence, the FA's head of national teams. "Football is a rich sport and has an obligation to put its wealth at the service of the people who can help the poor and make a difference."

Special tournament
The Italian also watched sides from 12 local schools battle it out in a specially-arranged seven-a-side tournament organized by the charity Kick 4 Life, which uses football to combat poverty and disease in Lesotho, where an estimated 23 per cent of the population, including almost 18,000 children, are HIV positive.

'Universal power'
"The idea of this event is to link the universal power of football with HIV testing and education," said Pete Fleming, co-founder of Kick 4 Life, which has been staging its pioneering 'Test Your Team' events in Lesotho since March, 2007. "The 25-40 age group is about 40 per cent infected, so people are calling it a lost generation. It's with this generation here that we just want to educate and spread the word. We don't want them to become a lost generation."

Life-saving education
Players were given potentially life-saving education about the virus and, in a country where less than 10 per cent of males and only 11 per cent of females know whether or not they are infected, youngsters were able to take an HIV test, with Capello and Clemence invited to sit in as one boy was examined.

'Good experience'
"It was tense," Capello admitted. "It was a few very long moments in that tent waiting for the outcome of the test. Fortunately the test was negative and everyone was very relieved. This was a very good experience, very good for our soul because it makes you understand what hardships there are in the world."