Can Beckham save Chinese football?

On Sunday, the day that wrapped up his four-day visit to China, David Beckham again generated cheering crowds, however this time it was from hundreds of students sitting in an auditorium at Peking University (PKU) rather than throngs of football fans.

The British soccer superstar, who has officially been anointed as ambassador for this sport in China, is expected to help promote the Chinese Super League - the country's most elite professional football association - and motivate children to join the sport.

The move has widely been regarded as an attempt to fix to the sport's battered image in the country after a three-year investigation into a series of bribery, match-fixing and corruption scandals that jailed a long list of former officials, athletes and referees.

However, questions have been raised as to whether the visit is a genuine panacea for the sport's image crisis, or just a temporary band-aid solution, while the details of the role remain unclear.

Slippery publicity

Over the last three days, the superstar has undoubtedly been one of the most discussed topics among Chinese netizens on Sina Weibo.

A search for "Little Becks," Beckham's Chinese nickname, on Weibo yielded some 35,000 posts Sunday afternoon, not to mention the 38 million posts discussing how he rolled up his shirt to show off a tattoo during a question and answer session with college students on Sunday morning.

Coming hot on the heels of this, discussion spread like wildfire after he slipped on wet turf while playing football in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Hundreds of thousands of comments poured forth, many of them complimenting him despite the accident.

"I have been following Beckham's itinerary through various channels, and surprisingly, it is not his football background or his role as ambassador, but his family, tattoo and fit physique that draw attention," Ren Hai, a professor at Beijing Sport University, told the Global Times.

"It seems to me that he came to China to communicate with his fans, not really in order to take up the role of ambassador," Ren added.

Whatever the reason for Beckham's visit, it didn't seem to matter to the students who lined up outside the Yingjie Exchange Center at the PKU campus Sunday morning hoping to catch a glimpse of their idol.

"Only those who have a ticket and a PKU ID are permitted to enter the auditorium to see David in person," a sophomore from the College of Engineering, who came to join the queue around 7:30 am, told the Global Times, adding that students from neighboring universities even came to borrow students' ID cards.

Gearing up

A staff member from the campus security department, who insisted on anonymity, told the Global Times that they had been trying to give PKU students priority access but the audience, estimated at around 400, was almost twice the planned amount.

"So we cordoned off the venue entirely, and some PKU students with tickets ended up not being allowed in," he added.

"Some 150 security guards were dispatched, of which 50 were around the auditorium building, and the security level was also lifted," a security guard at the scene told the Global Times Sunday.

The superstar's arrival at the No.2 High School in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon put students into a state of excitement.

Niu Xiaohua, the school's headmistress, who personally led the students in welcoming Beckham, told the Global Times that the superstar's stay at their school was successful.

"Surely students from neighboring schools are jealous, and after this visit many of our students have fallen in love with soccer, in contrast to recent trends that saw declining numbers of football participants at our school," Niu added.

Liu Xiaoxin, chief editor of the Guangzhou-based newspaper Soccer News, told the Global Times that although a superstar has been appointed to promote the sport to young members of the public, few parents are convinced it presents a viable career path for their children, which has caused a talent shortfall when it comes to providing qualified athletes.

"Sports training schools focus on training instead of a rounded education, and athletes who choose this are deprived of their education rights. This is a phenomenon specific to China, where athletes receive a lesser education than their peers," Xiao Huanyu, dean of the School of Sports and Humanities at the Shanghai University of Sport, told the Global Times.

"No wonder many parents forbid their children from a future in sports, because currently many people working in the industry are not well-educated," Xiao added.

A suitable choice?

The Oriental Sports Daily reported in late February that the 37-year-old football superstar would be paid 2 million euros ($2.60 million) to take on the role, however, when asked about payment during a press conference in Beijing, Beckham first evaded the question then later said he wasn't taking on the role for the money.

"The appointment isn't justifiable given the backlash that has dented the sport's image," Liu said, pointing out that Beckham - a British football player who is nearing the end of his career - doesn't really represent the situation for Chinese fans.

Xiao added that choosing Beckham was just a quick fix for the sport; however, he still has something to offer. "Beckham has helped popularize football in the UK, and if we can learn from his experience than he will prove to have been a successful choice."

"The ambassador will help raise recognition from the public and to some point, this is effective in terms of public relations crisis management," Ren said, adding that it will probably prove to be a minor fix rather than a fundamental reform of the system.

Xiao noted that a lack of self-discipline has made officials and athletes flout the law, and the sports industry is not necessarily a high profit venture even if it is run on the basis of market rules.