One hundred of the Orchid Group's Independent Local and Modern British pubs have joined forces to launch a new charity campaign called ‘Project Fair Play’.

The footie-focused initiative aims to be a high scorer for disadvantaged children in the UK and in South Africa (where the 2010 Football World Cup is being hosted), by providing them with fantastic football facilities.

The pubs will be blowing the starting whistle with a ‘Shirt Amnesty’. Fans are being asked to dig out their unwanted football shirts (especially children’s shirts) to donate. The old strips - instead of continuing to languish at the back of the wardrobe - will be taken directly to the Ukhanyo Primary School in Masiphumelele, South Africa.  Here they will be worn with pride by football mad youngsters as they excitedly watch the World Cup in their very own city.

However, the football fun doesn’t stop at shirts. The pubs also want to raise enough cash to build a brand new sports ground at the school through the ‘Happy Africa Foundation’ - and kit it out with 500 new ‘Alive and Kicking’ footballs, so the kids are ready for kick off.

Despite the World Cup being held in South Africa, millions of children there have never played football, or ‘diski’ as they colloquially call it, with a real ball. The specially created ‘Alive and Kicking’ balls are tough, repairable footballs made using African skills and African leather specifically for use on African terrain. Each ball carries an important message about HIV/Aids and malaria.

Not forgetting how much our youngsters love the beautiful game in this country, Project Fair Play also aims to buy 100 Fairtrade footballs to help sports projects for disabled and disadvantaged kids in the UK through children’s charity, ‘KidsOut’.