John Barnes in Ethiopia

A CLOUD of dust bursts into the air as John Barnes’s fancy footwork produces a round of applause from a crowd of onlookers.

The 44-year-old Strictly Come Dancing star is no longer rehearsing Latin moves in a studio or wowing TV audiences with his ballroom best.

Instead the Liverpool legend is working on a humanitarian mission to improve football facilities in Africa and his new audience is a group of Ethiopian children.

John, a dad-of-six, says: “I was told about a campaign called Score Ethiopia.

“It aims to help promote football in the poorest countries and build better facilities, as well as getting water to the communities and giving local people training and start-up loans to get better jobs.

“I wanted a new project to get my teeth into after the dancing and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my time.”

John travelled to Lalibela, a historic town in the north of Ethiopia to launch a fundraising campaign for a new football stadium, complete with goal posts, corner flags, kits, clean water facilities and a seating arena.

Lalibela is famous for rock-hewn churches dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries but despite a steady stream of tourism, it remains desperately poor with many people surviving on just £1 a week.

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