Beckham arrival triggers ticket frenzy

TORONTO, Jan 13 (Reuters) Major League Soccer's newest franchise Toronto FC have already reaped dividends from David Beckham's 250 million dollar signing with Los Angeles Galaxy.

The Toronto team, which has yet to play a game, said yesterday it had sold 1,036 season ticket packages -- one every three minutes -- in the 24 hours since it was announced that former England captain Beckham was coming to North America.

The frenzy surrounding Beckham's signing is even more remarkable considering there is no guarantee that he will even make an appearance in Toronto this season.

Beckham's contract with Real Madrid does not expire until June and the midfielder is not expected to join the Galaxy until sometime in August, nearly midway through the MLS season.

The MLS schedule will not be released until the end of January but Toronto FC officials said they were confident LA will visit the city in the late summer.

The Galaxy said earlier on Friday the club had sold more than 1,000 season-tickets in the heady first hours after news broke of Beckham's signing.

REUTERS YA KP1000