American youngsters will have a chance to learn to "Bend It Like Beckham." David Beckham will be a partner in a soccer academy scheduled to open in Los Angeles in November.
Beckham joined Simon Fuller, the creator of television's "American Idol," and Anschutz Entertainment Group President and Chief Executive Tim Leiweke on Thursday to unveil plans for the "David Beckham Academy."
The same group earlier announced an academy in London, part of an arena and entertainment district AEG is building.
PHOTO: AP
"I've opened one in London and I'm opening one in LA," Beckham told AP Television News. ``It's about kids coming down, getting off the streets, having fun. If we find great new talent, then that's good. But the most important thing, the kids coming down, they're learning about football, they're learning about their body and injuries that you can get.
"And, also, they're having fun."
Asked if he might move to the US at some point, Beckham said, "Yeah, I think it's always a possibility. In my career, things have happened and situations have happened and I never, ever thought that I'd be playing anywhere apart from England. But I'm playing in Spain now, and there is an opportunity to come to America, and I am thinking about it, definitely."
The 30-year-old Beckham recalled that as a youth, he attended the Bobby Charlton Soccer School, with dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. He said he's pleased now to be able to give youngsters the same chances he had.
The academy initially will focus on youngsters 8 to 15 years old.
Fuller said he was happy to help launch the academy, saying Beckham is a global sports hero.
"The David Beckham Academy will lay the foundation for many young Americans to learn and be inspired by one of soccer's most respected stars. We are hoping that this venture will continue to grow soccer as a recreational and competitive sport here in the United States," Fuller said in a statement.
Beckham and Eric Harrison have developed the academy's training program. Harrison formerly was a youth team coach at Manchester United for 18 years.
"Obviously me putting my name to the academy, it's about me putting my own money because this is a project that I actually believe in," Beckham said. ``And it's a project that I want to put back into football because I realize what I've got out of football myself and I've got in my life.
"To put something back into it is special for me."
US and international soccer officials are puzzled over the acting New Jersey governor's outrage that the American national anthem was not played before a friendly between England and Colombia.
Acting Governor Richard J. Codey, who attended Tuesday's match at Giants Stadium, was steamed when he realized that the "Star-Spangled Banner" would not be played along with the anthems of the countries in the match.
He said he immediately asked game organizers why it wasn't played and was told, "Governor, we're really very sorry. The British people don't want to hear it," The Star-Ledger of Newark reported in Thursday's newspapers.
The governor fired off letters to the chairman of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which manages Giants Stadium, and to Britain's ambassador to the US.
"The failure to play our national anthem was disrespectful not only to us as a the host, it was disrespectful to our country, the teams, the sport and all involved. This shouldn't happen in New Jersey, and it shouldn't happen anywhere," Codey wrote.
George Zoffinger, chief executive of the sports authority, said not playing the US anthem before an event at the complex is a violation of the authority's policy.
However, playing only the anthems of the two teams competing in a soccer match is standard for such international games, including the World Cup.
"Part of it [anthems] is for the introduction of those players in the match," said FIFA spokesman John Schumacher. "The match protocol is only the two teams."
Jim Moorhouse of Chicago-based US Soccer, concurred.
"The normal international protocol would be [to play the anthems of] the two nations that are playing," Moorhouse said. "There are lots of international games played on neutral sites all over the world."
FUSSY EATERS
Players with Italian soccer champion Juventus are happy to sample Chinese dishes like roasted duck and Yeung Chow fried rice during their visit to Hong Kong for a friendly match this weekend. But they've asked to keep bananas and mashed potatoes off their menu.
They also don't want to be served figs or kakis, also called Japanese persimmons, according to the team's menu released by the match organizers. And they really don't like croissants and brioches. In capital bold letters, Juventus asked not to be served those kinds of carbs.
The team didn't explain its menu choices, said Kitty Ng, spokeswoman for the promoter, KCE Sports and Entertainment.
"We don't know why they are not serving bananas," she said. "We were wondering about that when we got the request."
The menu had other specific requests, like oven-cooked potatoes, not the mashed kind.
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