FOOTBALL-MAD youngsters in townships in South Africa are showing their allegiance to the Clarets.

Dozens of children in Zamdela, near Johannesburg, are now the proud owners of Burnley FC shirts.

The shirts have been shipped to the township by Burnley-based charity Furniture for Education Worldwide (FEW), having been collected by the Clarets Trust, or donated by the club.

Similar batches have arrived in Nelspruit and Cape Town in South Africa, as well as Gambia, Kenya and Egypt.

A shipment has also been sent to Bangladesh.

Peter Pike, chairman of the Clarets Trust and a trustee of the FEW, said: “A lot of the stuff has come from the football club, and some from the fans, and it has been organised by the Clarets Trust.

“Football is a massive sport in South Africa and especially in the townships, but very often they are playing without any shirts at all.

“To play in team colours as a team is a tremendous bonus for them. And, of course, it is building up the support for Burnley all over the world.”

The kits sent to Nelspruit have proved so popular that a football tournament has been organised to see which team should wear them.

The shirts were sent to Zamdela because of the links between St Peter’s Church, in Burnley, and St Peter’s, in Zamdela.

Canon Tom Bill, of St Peter’s Burnley, has recently been there, and Father Barnard Litabo, from Zamdela, was in Burnley earlier this year and went to Turf Moor twice during his visit.

Mr Pike said: “Father Barnard saw Burnley win twice while he was here and he is hooked now.

“He was very disappointed that we missed out on the play-offs, but he told me he wants us to go up automatically next season.”