ecns [expanded by feedex.net]: ¡®Little Beck¡¯ kicks off 4-day China tour

ecns [expanded by feedex.net]

ecns

¡®Little Beck¡¯ kicks off 4-day China tour
http://www.ecns.cn/2013/03-21/55209.shtml
Mar 21st 2013, 00:05

















2013-03-21 09:05 Global Times     Web Editor: Sun Tian
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Soccer superstar David Beckham took up his role as the official ambassador for the sport in China after arriving in Beijing by private jet Wednesday.


Wei Jixiang, Party secretary of the management center of football under the General Administration of Sports, said he hopes Beckham will help promote the Chinese Super League, the highest tier in the country's professional football association.


"I expect Beckham will have a lot of positive influence for the professional football association and the sport," Wei said.


Beckham's four-day tour of China will also take him to Qingdao, Shandong Province and Wuhan, Hubei Province.


The superstar's appointment as ambassador of soccer came after the sport's image was battered by a three-year investigation into a series of bribery, match-fixing and corruption scandals.


Some 30 former officials, players and referees have been imprisoned, while the Chinese Football Association said in February that 33 people received a lifetime ban from football.


The 37-year-old star, known by his Chinese nickname "Little Becks," said during a press conference Wednesday that he is not a politician and his visit has nothing to do with improving the game's image.


He said he only wants to help educate young children and motivate them to become professional footballers, adding that he has not been paid to come to China.


The Oriental Sports Daily reported in late February that the player would be paid 2 million euros ($2.6 million) for his role as ambassador.


Liu Xiaoxin, chief editor of the Guangzhou-based newspaper Soccer News, told the Global Times that bringing Beckham to China could help improve public opinion of the sport, which is at an all-time low even though some professional football teams remain extremely popular and a number of foreign stars have signed contracts with Chinese clubs worth millions of dollars.


"The public is questioning whether China really needs a British national who is near the end of his career as its football ambassador," Liu said.


Xiao Huanyu, dean of the School of Sports and Humanities at the Shanghai University of Sport, told the Global Times that Beckham still has something to offer. "Beckham has helped popularize football in the United Kingdom, and if we can learn from his experience then his mission will be a success," Xiao added.


"The game has decayed. People are disappointed by the game, and few people accept it," Liu said, adding that the government should play a greater role in regulating the sport.


Beckham is now with Paris St-Germain, after having played with Manchester United, Real Madrid and LA Galaxy.












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