CHARLTON will play host to HRH Prince William, president-designate of the Football Association, on Friday.

One of Prince William's first engagements in his new role will be to visit the Premiership club's Sparrows Lane training ground.

He is keen to see the work being carried out by the club's award-winning community department at first hand and will see a number of local schoolchildren.

The Prince will also meet members of Charlton's first-team squad prior to their Premiership match against Bolton Wanderers at The Valley the following day.

Prince William was appointed the president-designate of the Football Association in mid-September, and will take over the role from his uncle, HRH The Duke of York, as president of the governing body of English football in May 2006.

At the time of the announcement, FA chairman Geoff Thompson said: "The appointment of Prince William initially as president-designate means that over the next few months the Duke can introduce him to the FA, its staff and its many programmes and initiatives."

Prince William, an Aston Villa fan, added: "I am really excited to be taking up this role. Football is a game I love playing and watching.

"It is also the national sport and generates extraordinary passions among millions of people. It certainly did last year for me when I followed England with my friends during Euro 2004, and will no doubt do so again next summer during the World Cup in Germany.

"Over the next few months I look forward to getting to know the FA well with the help of my uncle, and to understanding better the role the organisation plays in promoting the game at all levels."

The trip to Sparrows Lane comes just a week after Clarence House announced that Prince William had passed his Regular Commissions Board, enabling William to go to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst next year to begin his training as an officer in the army.

And it's the latest in a series of high-profile visits to examine the club's community operation, following Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and the then health secretary Dr John Reid earlier this year.