World Cup organisers may honour Beckham for record

World Cup organizers may honor David Beckham with a special ceremony if the England midfielder breaks his country's all-time appearance record at the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

Danny Jordaan, the 2010 chief executive, said Thursday that he planned to approach Nelson Mandela and ask the former South Africa president to host a ceremony.

The 33-year-old Beckham has played 108 times for England and could match Peter Shilton's record of 125 appearances at the showpiece.

England leads its qualifying group and has nine more matches scheduled this year alone.

"I will discuss it with Mandela," Jordaan said. "(Beckham) is a great role model and we look forward to having him in our country."

Citing Beckham's impact at Manchester United, Real Madrid, the Los Angeles Galaxy and now AC Milan, Jordaan said the veteran's presence would boost South Africa should England qualify.

"He has become a global brand," Jordaan said. "He has played in the big leagues and the main markets.

"You saw the impact when Manchester United played in Japan. There was the team and there was Beckham's brand."

Beckham played in England's 2-1 friendly win at South Africa in 2003, but was substituted in the 51st minute after breaking his wrist.

Jordaan also said organizers were reviewing security arrangements with Interpol in the wake of terrorist attacks on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Pakistan.

"If I have 100 percent of the information of where you stay and where you eat, I can guarantee safety," Jordaan said.

"For any major event you have to work with security establishments such as Interpol, we have done that and have also been to the last World Cup and the Beijing Olympics."

Sapa-AP