THE Standard's readership appears to have expanded to Mumbai after a group of slum children in the Indian city were snapped reading a copy this week.

Members of the Oscar Foundation's under-14 football team took a break from training to read through the February 9 edition of their favourite Cotswold-based newspaper.

They particularly liked the feature on page 23 about their upcoming tour of the UK, which will see them face four schools including Beaudesert School in Minchinhampton, this November.

The Oscar Foundation was set up 10 years ago by teenager Ashok Rathod, now 28.

Ashok still lives in the slum with his family, though travels the world spreading the charity's ethos of combining education with sport in order to keep slum children in school.

Freelance publicist Lucinda Magraw, from Frampton Mansell, is currently out in Mumbai on a visit and took the photo.

Lucinda is helping to drum up sponsorship for the football tour, while Ashok will be in Gloucestershire in April.

What's more, former Cirencester College student Max Cooke, 27, has taken a break from his studies at Bristol University and is set to move out to Mumbai to teach the players English.

Many of the youngsters who will visit Gloucestershire have never left the slums before.

One of the boys selected for the tour is 11-year-old Omprakash (pictured below).

He lives with his father, who sells tea - or chai wallah - on the streets of Mumbai.

Despite his age, Ashok chose him, like the other players for the tour, because of his keen mentality as well as his footballing ability.

Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard:

To learn more about the tour, Ashok and Oscar read:

Indian slum children to play Gloucestershire schools in football tour

To find out about Max's trip, read:

Former Cirencester College student to move Mumbai to teach slum children English ahead of UK football tour