David Beckham to mentor young footballers in new Disney+ series
The former footballer is keen to give back to the communities in east London which helped launch his career.
Wednesday 14 April 2021 13:38, UK
David Beckham will mentor young grassroots footballers in a new Disney+ factual series.
The sports star, who has played for clubs including Manchester United and Real Madrid, will return to the east London pitches where his life in the game began, to support a struggling team.
The former England footballer will take the players, their coaches and communities on "an uplifting, transformative journey of a lifetime," according to Disney.
The show, called Save Our Squad, will be made by production company Twenty Twenty and Studio 99, the global content and production studio co-founded by Beckham.
"It is fantastic to be making Save Our Squad with Twenty Twenty and to shine a light on the kind of grassroots football that I experienced growing up," he said.
"I was so fortunate to have a long and successful playing career and now to have the opportunity to give back to these communities as a mentor is incredible."
Sean Doyle, who will executive-produce the show for Disney, described it as "exciting, dramatic, uplifting and full of heart and courage - everything David had in his own playing days".
Beckham began playing football in parks and at school in Chingford, east London, before signing on as a schoolboy for Manchester United on his 14th birthday.
He made his first team debut in 1992 when he was 17 and went on to win the Premier League six times, FA Cup twice and was part of the club's treble-winning side in 1999 when United lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy.
He then played four seasons with Real Madrid before moving to LA Galaxy in 2007 on a five-year contract.
Beckham was often ranked as one of the highest earning footballers in the world.
He has been married to Victoria Beckham since 1999 and they have four children; Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper.