Sports, Science, Arts & Entertainment

Beckham to help Chinese football

Will David Beckham change Chinese football?

The former England football captain, David Beckham, has been hired by China's football authorities to do a very special job. They want Beckham to promote their domestic Super League. He will perform his new role while still playing for Paris St. Germain.
Nov 25,2013

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. David Beckham says he's 'honoured' and 'excited' by this new role, as part-time global ambassador for Chinese football. It could be one of his toughest yet.

In the world's most populous country, football has struggled for popularity. Corruption and match-fixing have tainted Chinese football. And recent attempts by Chinese clubs to hire star players from abroad, including Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka have foundered. The big foreign names have left after just a few months, disappointed by their new clubs or the standard of the game in China.

In the same way he was an ambassador for the London Olympics, David Beckham's role will be to promote China's Super League inside and outside the country. In particular he’ll try to encourage Chinese children to get interested in the game.

It's not clear how much he'll be paid by China's League to be its ambassador, but he'll continue to play football for his new French club Paris St. Germain.

Vocabulary

honoured: proud and happy
role: job or responsibility
ambassador: person who represents the sport
toughest: most challenging/hardest
corruption: illegal activity, especially by people in power
tainted: spoiled
standard: quality
to encourage: to increase interest in

Sports, Science, Arts & Entertainment

Vocabulary

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