OXFORD United's players put their names to an initiative aimed at taking some obvious penalties out of the game when they signed "fair trade" footballs supplied by the Rev Simon Carver, minister at New Road Baptist Church in Oxford.

The footballs are marketed by Traidcraft, and help to eliminate child labour from the manufacturing process and give adult workers a fair return for their labour.

"There's no level playing field in international trade. It's an uphill game for third world workers all the time," says Traidcraft managing director Philip Angier.

Child labour, appalling working conditions and pitiful reward are a daily reality for millions of workers across the third world.

A recent Save The Children Fund report showed that while the majority of children involved in stitching were aged between ten and 13, there were some as young as five.

One 13-year-old girl, working all day to stitch three footballs - an experienced adult would find it impossible to stitch more than five - was paid 10 rupees (about 40p).

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