CONDOLEEZZA Rice visited Ewood Park and did get to watch a football match after all!

And she used the visit to deliver a keynote speech on foreign policy.

Her tour guide, Blackburn MP Jack Straw, desperately wanted to take the US Secretary of State to see his beloved Rovers during her two-day tour of the town, after she took him to see an American Football match during his visit to her home in Birmingham, Alabama, last year.

But his plans were thrown into disarray when this weekend's Blackburn Rovers versus Wigan tie was moved to Monday night for Sky Sports coverage.

Being a proud Rover, Mr Straw still took Dr Rice to Ewood Park this lunchtime to show off his favourite sporting arena, albeit an empty one.

Traffic on the M65 came to a standstill as the motorcade carrying the VIP visitor whisked her to the ground from Pleckgate High School.

Rovers boss Mark Hughes, captain Andy Todd and Dr Rice's fellow American, goalkeeper Brad Friedel were on hand to give Dr Rice the lowdown on football.

She was presented with a Rovers shirt, which had the number 10 and the name Rice written on the back of it.

She was also given a pair of goalkeeping gloves.

As they chatted near the players' tunnel, junior teams from the club's academy staged a game on the pitch to show Dr Rice what the fuss was all about.

After enjoying lunch in the President's Lounge, Dr Rice and Mr Straw gave their lectures at a special event organised by the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

Dr Rice gave the inaugural speech in a series of Chatham House lectures to be broadcast on the radio.