JOHN Barnes will be grateful for small mercies when he jumps back into football management for Kanu's Heart Foundation charity match at the Reebok next Tuesday.

"At least if I lose this game I don't have to worry about being sacked," smiled the legendary Liverpool and England winger who endured a short and not so sweet spell as boss of Celtic three years ago.

Dozens of the biggest names in world soccer have been invited to take part in an Africa versus Rest of the World match in aid of raising money to fund heart operations for African children.

Many immediately agreed to play including top Arsenal, Blackburn and Bolton stars and so many more are expected to be in town on the night that they could field four teams if they had to.

The Reebok has become no stranger to world class talent during their two-year stint in the Premiership with the likes of Jay Jay Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff in the White shirt and visiting teams regularly fielding household names.

But never before has there been as many in Bolton at the same time and, at £10 for adults and £5 for under-16s, the occasion is expected to pull in a crowd of thousands.

Arsenal's Vieira, Henry and Kanu, of course, will be there along with Chelsea's Desailly and Melchiot, Everton's Yobo and Blackburn's Yorke, Cole and Tugay. And with Newcastle's Lomano Tresor Lua Lua taking up the offer the Reebok could be treated to one of his acrobatic double somersault goal celebrations.

One man who organisers are anxiously awaiting confirmation of his interest is Brazilian world cup winner Ronaldinho.

A massive 69 players have either agreed to drive or fly in for the game or have expressed an interest, none, however, from two of the nation's best supported clubs, Manchester United or Liverpool.

Wanderers will also be represented by World Cup stars Okocha and Djorkaeff along with goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen on the field and Sam Allardyce on the bench with the Reebok boss taking charge of the Rest of the World team.

Taking a look at the 37 invited players he could have to chose from - which also includes Robert Pirez, Edu, Emmanuel Petit, Real Madrid's Makelele, Damien Duff, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Zola, Nicolas Anelka, Sylvain Wiltord, Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, Thuram and Wayne Rooney - Big Sam gasped: "If I have all these great players to chose from I'll have two sleepless nights worrying about trying to pick a team that won't upset anyone."

So what are all these big illustrious names doing in a small northern town like Bolton?

The answer is Reebok superstar Okocha who is a fellow countryman of Nigerian Kanu and has links with the chief executive of the Kanu Nwankwo Heart Foundation, Paul Okeh.

Bolton soccer fans had a lot to thank Okocha for on Saturday when he produced an awesome display against Manchester United and they will have him to thank next Tuesday for bringing so many world stars to the Reebok.

Kanu started his heart foundation to help youngsters in Africa who suffer from heart problems as he did.

He overcame his ailment to become a national icon and international football star and now he is using the attraction of his name to help other African children beat heart illness.

Allardyce added: "There will be a fantastic array of talent on show and I am more than happy if the attendance reflects the talent of the players who will be on show."

It will be a friendly occasion in every sense, but both Allardyce and Barnes' competitive natures will ensure both camps will want to win.

"As long as we win nothing will upset me," added the Reebok boss. "It will be a very enjoyable game and it is a credit to the players who turn up at a time when they have such a heavy schedule."

Kanu is living proof that, contrary to public opinion, football players are not all greedy and Barnes paid tribute to his work.

"When we heard he had a heart problem no-one expected him to continue playing. It shows the size of the man that he has beaten it.

"Foundations of this sort are more common in America but not so over here or in Europe. You talk about Michael Jordon setting up a foundation but you don't expect it to happen over here."

On the match, he added: "The Africa select team will have some world class players.

"It is a friendly and the club managers have been very good to release their players and I would urge the fans to come along and support it.

"Knowing the players and their egos when they get out on the pitch they will want to show off their skills."