Project South Africa preparation enters final phase

FourFourTwo's trip to South Africa with the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK is imminent and we're afraid there's good news and bad. 

The bad news is that FourFourTwo's hopes of sharing a tent with Leoline-haired former Newcastle United left-back John Beresford have been scuppered.

Not because John objected (we hadn't actually told him yet), but because his former Newcastle team-mate Rob Lee is now coming along for the ride.

The good news is that Lee â and he's speaking from years of experience â describes Beresford to FourFourTwo as "the worst room-mate ever." The former England midfielder also confesses to having never stayed in a tent in his life. Frankly readers, it sounds like we're better of out of it.

"Oh 'eck. We're not rooming together again are we?!" 

Both describe themselves as "willing" and "unskilled" when it comes to manual labour. That makes three of us.

It's also how you would describe FourFourTwo as a footballer these days. And since, after eight hours a day of manual labour in sub-Saharan Africa late-Spring heat, we'll be playing and coaching football every evening, we were kind of hoping Rob and John â both now 42 â will have let themselves go a bit since they retired.

You know, bring them down to our level a bit.

"They don't call me 'Two-minis Massarella' for nothing..." 

Sadly, both claim they'll be raring to go for a kickabout after a day's hard yakka. So whilst I'll be holding my own in the DIY stakes, I'll certainly know my place when it comes to the football. Let's hope the locals aren't up to much.

By the time you next read this blog, I'll be in South Africa, telling you what a great way of doing something for charity, whilst also doing something
football-related, this is.

But then, you can only take my word for it. Why not experience it for yourself. There are still places available for the BMF Project to Ecuador. For more information visit www.cancerresearchuk.org