as members of an Alabama A&M University representative squad.

An unnamed Philadelphia-based corporation recently tagged the institution for a sponsored goodwill trip to the previously despised apartheid nation, but NCAA rules prevented current players at the school from accepting without being stripped of any future eligibility.

Thus Ethiopian coach John Tesma began assembling an `All-Star' concoction of past players, dialling up the likes of locals Corey Hill, Maceo Dill, Stanton Lewis and Richard Todd, all of whom gleefully accepted.

After a rendezvous in Huntsville, the contingent will jet out for the South African capital of Johannesburg on November 12, with various activities planned. Included on the itinerary are soccer clinics, tours and a match against the South Africa Under-23 team who captured the African Cup of Nations in February.

That match is scheduled to appear on Black Entertainment Television on a tape delay basis.

An excited Hill said yesterday he couldn't wait to get on the plane.

"That's all I'm looking forward to right now,'' said Hill, who graduated from A&M in 1995 with a bachelors degree in Urban Planning and Development and is now employed by the Department of Planning, while performing on the pitch for reigning First Division champions Vasco.

Prodded on his views of the country that for so long oppressed the majority black population, Hill explained that he had not given the issue much consideration.

However, he noted the dramatic change since the end of the apartheid regime and consequent election of a black president as movement in the right direction.

"I haven't really given it much thought, but with the takeover of Nelson Mandela I would see things as on the up and up,'' he added. "Wherever you go you experience those (racial) type of things.'' Meanwhile, Dill, once a promising forward for North Village, has been robbed of the chance to play due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, but will occupy a managerial role during the trip.

He is being rewarded not only for his past contribution to the school as a player, but also his continued efforts in recruiting players from Bermuda and cleansing a programme racked by scandal and numerous NCAA violations perpetrated by the previous head coach.

Dill explained the trip to South Africa as one that could serve many purposes.

"We're going to South Africa to show not only that there's good football played in America, but that there are chances of education as well,'' said Dill, who graduated earlier this year with the same degree as Hill and also works at the Department of Planning.

"It'll also be a learning experience for us, as through the week we'll be travelling, learning about different cultures and doing camps and stuff for the kids and at the end of the week play a game.'' Todd and Lewis remain hard at work towards completion of their degree requirements, but are free to travel without penalty as they have already extinguished their four years of eligibility.