Under pressure, David Beckham speaks out about the World Cup in Qatar

Pointed out by the US newspaper The New York Times for not commenting on the impact of the World Cup held in Qatar, while he is one of the emirate’s paid ambassadors, David Beckham said this Saturday (17th) through a spokesman that “the sport has the power to be a force for good in the world.”

In an article published on Friday (16) entitled “The missing speaker at the World Cup”, the newspaper indicated that the Qatari authorities were disappointed with the silence of the former English star of Real Madrid and Manchester United, since he is being paid for being one of the World Cup ambassadors.

According to the New York Times, Beckham would have demanded very strict conditions for his public interventions and seems to dodge questions about certain issues, such as Qatar’s laws that prohibit homosexuality.

In response to that article, his spokesperson released a statement stating that “David has been involved in numerous World Cups and other international tournaments, both as a player and as an ambassador, and has always believed that sport has the power to be a force for the good in the world”.

“We understand that there are different and deeply rooted opinions about the organization (of the World Cup) in the Middle East, but we consider it positive that the debate on these key issues has been stimulated by the first World Cup organized in the region”, added the same source. .

“We hope that these conversations will lead to greater understanding and empathy between all and that progress will be made,” the statement concluded.

David Beckham, 47 years old, would have received, according to some media, US$ 180 million (R$ 950 million) over a period of ten years to promote Qatar, although other media speak of a sum of US$ 15 million ( BRL 79 million) per year over three years.

Beckham played in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups with England.