DOHA:
David Beckham has made his first public assertion on his controversial multi-million-dollar ambassador’s position with FIFA World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar, telling the New York Times he believed “sport has the power to be a force for good in the world”.
In an article on Friday entitled “The World Cup’s Missing Mouthpiece”, the US newspaper alleged Qatar had been dissatisfied with its return on its funding as a result of the previous Manchester United and Real Madrid participant had appeared little or no in public in the course of the World Cup.
The paper claimed Beckham had positioned strict circumstances on his appearances and that he seemed to be shielded from questions on points reminiscent of Qatar’s legal guidelines on homosexuality.
In response to the article, his publicist issued a press release saying: “David has been concerned in quite a lot of World Cups and different main worldwide tournaments each as a participant and an envoy and he has at all times believed that sport has the facility to be a pressure for good on the earth.
“We understand that there are different and strongly held views about engagement in the Middle East but see it as positive that debate about the key issues has been stimulated directly by the first World Cup being held in the region,” the assertion continued.
“We hope that these conversations will lead to greater understanding and empathy toward all people and that progress will be achieved.”
Initial reviews final 12 months indicated that 47-year-old Beckham was being paid $180 million over 10 years to advertise Qatar, however more moderen reviews point out he’ll obtain round $15 million a 12 months for 3 years with an possibility to increase.
Beckham, who performed within the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cup finals for England, is among the homeowners of Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami.
