A NON-LEAGUE football team has returned from an end-of-season tour of Nepal - enjoying ten days of fame and football in the Indian sub-continent.

On the pitch, Richmond Mavericks FC lost two games against Nepali Premier League sides, and drew twice against regional teams. Thousands of fans watched the matches - including the UK's ambassador to Nepal, and the head of Nepal's armed police.

Off the pitch, the side appeared dozens of times in national newspapers, and watched highlights of their matches on the national news.

For one match, the players were even given an armed police escort for the eight-hour coach journey into the Nepali flatlands.

The Mavericks - whose first team plays in the Teesside League - were supposed to tour Nepal in April last year. The trip was cancelled hours before take-off when the Icelandic volcano erupted and the resulting ash cloud grounded flights across Europe.

After months of effort, the tour was rearranged, with the 18-strong squad arriving in Kathmandu on Wednesday, May 11. The first game took place the next day, against New Road Team - one of the Nepali Premier League's best sides.

NRT, who fielded two African professionals, won 2-0. The Mavericks' player-manager, Sam Bainbridge, missed a second-half penalty when the score was 1-0.

The second game took place in Butwal, an eight-hour journey west of Kathmandu. A national strike, held the day before the game, meant the side needed an armed guard to pass peacefully through dozens of roadblocks.

Playing in 37C heat, the Mavericks fell 2-0 down to Butwal's regional side. But second-half goals from Richie Bastow, and a 30-yard half-volley by Tom Lowson, meant the match ended 2-2.

The third game, against a regional side in Pokhara, at the foot of the Himalayas, ended 0-0. The final game, back in Kathmandu, finished 4-1 to the Premier League side Armed Police Force.

The players even squeezed in a flight round Mount Everest, and a trip to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.

Tour organiser, Owen Amos said: "There was no real reason we chose Nepal. I saw the place on television, sent a few emails, and grew more and more amazed when I realised the trip was possible.

"The reception we got was amazing. When we turned up at the airport, there was a photographer waiting to take our picture for the morning's newspapers.

"Everywhere we went, people knew who we were, and wanted to speak to us. The Nepalese people were fantastic - it was like being famous for ten days. We'll never forget it."