David Beckham has said the Qatar World Cup will be a "platform for progress" amid backlash for his backing of the event's controversial location.
Speaking at the Supreme Committee’s “Generation Amazing” youth festival in Doha on Thursday in a pre-recorded video, the football icon praised the nation for their organisation of the international sporting event, reports Birmingham Mail.
It comes as football chiefs have been slammed for choosing the country as tournament host due to its criminalisation of homosexuality, poor treatment of migrant workers and dismal human rights record.
David told his audience: "Qatar dreamed of bringing the World Cup to a place that it had never been before, but that it wouldn’t be enough just to achieve things on the pitch - the pitch would be a platform for progress.”
Beckham, who has appeared in promotional videos for the occasion, has come under fire for supporting Fifa's decision - with comedian Joe Lycett giving the former England captain an ultimatum to renounce his role or waste serious cash.
David continued: “Dreams can come true. That is why you are here. You share Generation Amazing’s twin passions for the game of football and for making the world a more tolerant and inclusive place.
“Every one of the great players I was lucky enough to play with started exactly the same way. In a back garden, park, or a street outside their home with just a ball and an imagination that they dared to let run wild.
"Almost two decades ago a small group of football lovers from Qatar had an equally fantastic dream: that they could bring the greatest football show on earth to their home country and to the Middle East for the very first time.
“And now we are here. Because when dreams are harnessed and mixed with dedication and hard work, they are no longer dreams. They become reality.”
He added: “I want to say to all of you, ‘today is your day to dream’. Because there are no limits to what you and your teammates can achieve in our beautiful game.
“Even before this festival kicks off, more than a million lives have been touched to create an inspirational global community of coaches, educators and new young leaders. It all began as a dream. That is now yours. So please be inspired and pass it on.”
Lycett previously vowed to shred £10k unless Becks renounced his role as a Qatar ambassador. The comic shared a post to Instagram showing an email the comedian claimed to have sent to Becks' anonymous publicist.
“I expect you’re having a busy week!” Lycett wrote. “Me too! I’ve managed to get myself into a bit of a pickle – I’ve been a bit daft and publicly announced that I’m going to shred £10k on Sunday if David doesn’t end his relationship with Qatar, or donate cash to LGBT+ charities if he does, yet we’re now four days out and I haven’t heard a peep from him.
"Could you do me a solid and let me know if there’s any chance he might budge on his position, or am I to expect radio silence on this? I really don’t want to shred 10 grand!!!”
Lycett continued: “I also really don’t want a national treasure that has historically supported the LGBT+ community to publicly endorse and advertise a nation state that has an appalling human rights record and has the death penalty for gays – call me old fashioned!!!!!!
“There’s still time for David and his team to do the right thing. I’m happy to speak to you about this at any time that you find convenient. Best Wishes, Joe.”
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