22 December,2015 08:32 AM IST | | PA Sport
Former England skipper Beckham says the current FIFA scandal must be viewed as an ideal opportunity to implement vital reforms in the beautiful game
London: David Beckham believes while big changes are inevitable at FIFA the ongoing corruption investigations must never be allowed to overshadow the positive effect football can have on divergent communities around the world.
David Beckham
Beckham was speaking at the launch of his documentary 'For The Love Of The Game', which chronicles his quest to play a match on all seven continents in seven days culminating in an all-star UNICEF fundraising match at Old Trafford.
Beckham said: 'I'm sure at some point there will be a huge amount of change at FIFA.
'I think there has obviously been a lot of distraction over the last couple of years with FIFA and obviously with the allegation of corruption, but I think that this documentary shows the powers of the game and the power of sport.
'No matter what corruption is going on at the highest level, it will never be as big as the game itself.'
May 29, 2015: FIFA chief Sepp Blatter is greeted by UEFA President Michel Platini (right) after Blatter's re-election as FIFA president in Zurich, Switzerland
Among others, Beckham's flying visits take him to the jungles of Papua New Guinea, the desert of Djibouti and a Buenos Aires barrio as well as an ambitious quest to play the first official football match in Antarctica.
And the support and welcome he received during the trip has hardened Beckham's belief that the controversial awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively should stand irrespective of ongoing revelations.
Beckham added: 'My support is not for individual countries, my support is for the game, and the World Cup has always been about changing communities and lives and giving people job opportunities. Russia will be hosting the World Cup for the first time and Qatar will have a World Cup in that part of the world and these two places never had the World Cup. I'm not agreeing with anything they believe with on certain things... but what I do believe is the fact that these countries are now going to be hosting the World Cup so everyone needs to get behind the sport.'
