Soccer-Beckham looking for venue for Asian academy

BEIJING, July 15 (Reuters) England's David Beckham wants to build on his popularity in Asia by opening a new soccer academy on the continent.

The Real Madrid midfielder, who stood down as England captain after their exit from the World Cup finals, is looking for an Asian city as a site for a new state-of-the-art academy to go with those he runs in London and Los Angeles.

''We're looking from the Pacific to the Middle East and anywhere in between,'' Ed Cunningham of AEG, partners in the project with 19 Entertainment, told Reuters.

''It's not a matter of which city wants it, but of where's best to put it.

''We'd like it to be a hub for children from all over Asia.'' As a child, Beckham attended a soccer school run by former England and Manchester United player Bobby Charlton and wants to pass on similar experiences to the next generation.

''This is what he wants to do when he retires, help kids develop their leadership and soccer skills,'' Cunningham added.

The academy is not a charity, however, nor is it necessarily aimed at unearthing the David Beckham's of the future.

''It's not for elite kids, there may be kids with promise but alongside them there'll be kids who haven't played much,'' said Cunningham.

''It's basically run from corporate sponsorship which David allocates to the academy,'' he addded. ''It's an expensive business.

The build-out on the London academy was about 9.0 million pounds (16.55 million dollars).'' Although it is a commercial operation, Cunningham said it was unlikely there would be a rash of academies opening up all over Asia.

''David Beckham commits a lot of time each year to the academy,'' he added. ''We don't want to stretch David too much. This isn't the kind of academy that has David's name but he never shows up. He's involved in every detail of the planning.'' REUTERS PM KN1404