By Kolawole Ojebisi
After a sterling football career spanning two decades and a remarkable charity project, David Beckham will be garlanded with a knighthood by King Charles III next week.
According to BBC reports on Friday, the award is in recognition of Beckham’s football career and his charity work.
The football icon will join other eminent Britons in a Honours List to commemorate the King’s Birthday
With this development, the former England’s football captain will join other sporting figures who have been awarded the title including his former manager at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson, and British tennis great Andy Murray.
The Sun newspaper said he would take the title of “sir” and his wife Victoria, a former member of the Spice Girls pop group, will be known as Lady Beckham.
Recall that Beckham, often remembered for his trademark free-kicks, played 115 times for England as well as for a list of high-profile clubs including United and Real Madrid before hanging his boots in 2013.
He is currently the president and co-owner of US team Inter Miami and co-owner of Salford City, who play in the fourth tier of English football.
The 50-year-old, who has long been in the running for a knighthood, was appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2003 — a lower award in Britain’s honours system.
Victoria later received the same award for services to the fashion industry.
This award comes a month after Beckham was named in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential leaders in philanthropy.
He is an official ambassador for The King’s Foundation, supporting its education programmes and “efforts to ensure young people have a greater understanding of nature” and has been a UNICEF goodwill ambassador since 2005.
Beckham’s chances of receiving a knighthood got a boost after helping London win its bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.
But UK authorities placed a red flag on his nomination due to his involvement in an alleged tax avoidance scheme, according to previous reports. He was subsequently cleared.
In 2017, British newspapers printed details of leaked emails in which Beckham criticised the honours system and the honours committee, according to the BBC.
A spokesman for Beckham said at the time that the emails were “hacked”, “doctored” and “private”.
