YOU can't fault them for having had a ball of a time.

After all they were mainly footballers - namely the England team for the World Cup kicking off in Germany next month.

And they were at a ball - one organised by their captain David Beckham and his pop star wife Victoria.

Aptly, the exclusive party, which also included many celebrities, was called The Full Length and Fabulous Ball.

Held at the couple's countryside mansion north of London last night, it was meant to be a World Cup send-off.

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, carrying an injury and still doubtful for the World Cup, was one of the first guests to arrive.

Former England rugby union captain Will Carling, Paul Gascoigne and Manchester United defender Gary Neville were also there.

So were golfer Nick Faldo, just-retired striker Alan Shearer and Frank Lampard.

The £500,000 ($1.45m) party - 75,000 worth of champagne flowed - had a Spanish theme and was held in a marquee the size of a football pitch.

It is understood the Beckhams offset some of the cost by selling exclusive access to a ITV, which will screen a 90-minute documentary about the party next week.

A giant marquee was erected near the Beckhams' house and 60 security guards patrolled the grounds, while police stood guard at the front gate.

One of night's highlights was an auction which included a 500,000 apartment in Dubai given to the Beckhams by Sheik Mohammed al-Maktoum, its ruler, a 1 million Asprey diamond necklace and earrings set designed by Victoria, two diamond-encrusted watches valued at 60,000 from Jacob & Co of New York, and a 400,000 Bentley.

Nightclub owner David West paid 103,000 for two tickets to attend the event, with money raised going to children's charities.

Media crews and about 50 fans braved pouring rain to gather on the road outside the estate, just for a glimpse of the stars invited to the bash.

A steady stream of vans and lorries pulled in through the front gate throughout the afternoon.

One was carrying golf buggies, another Harley Davidson motorcycles and a helicopter support services truck was also seen.

Three World War II planes had been due to fly overhead, but the Real Madrid midfielder and his wife cancelled the stunt at the last minute.

'They decided they didn't want it,' said a Royal Air Force spokesman, adding that the Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster had been unable to leave their base in any event because of the bad weather.

The flypast had raised eyebrows because England fans have been warned not to mention the war when they travel to Germany for the tournament next month.

But the big bash did not go down well with everybody, some of whom criticising it as a waste of money although it also raised a substantial amount of money for charity.

Ash Connor, a national council member of the Football Supporters' Federation, said: 'I just think it is so obscene to spend that sort of money on stuff like that. The World Cup squad would be better off going training.'

The children's charities that benefited may not agree, though.

That was one big party , i saw an news story on TV about it. The marquee was bigger than their house. :shock:

There was a very interesting documentary on TV the other day. This was about life in Madrid where they now live for most of the time.

In some ways he`s quite a down to earth type of guy, though not many ordinary folks own something like 10 cars, including a Ferrari, Hummer, and a top of the range BMW.