'What is the purpose of bringing David Beckham to India?' Syed Rahim Nabi raises question

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Football legend David Beckham recently visited India during the ongoing World Cup 2023. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid icon also attended the semifinal between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium.

He was later seen at a party along with many Bollywood actors and actresses. But amid this gala trip, Beckham, the UNICEF ambassador was not involved in a single session with Indian young footballers.

Beckham came to India as a UNICEF global ambassador, but it would have been a boost for Indian football had he spent some time with the footballing personnel in the nation.

Although the Indian national team was in Kuwait, playing for their World Cup 2026 qualifiers, it would have been an excellent and surreal moment for the youngsters of our nation to interact with the football legend, and get some valuable tips from the iconic player.

We saw the former England star having a chat about football with Indian Spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Unfortunately, there were no Indian young footballers who got any chance to be in proximity to Beckham.

And former India footballer Syed Rahim Nabi has expressed his grievance with strong words after Beckham's trip. Speaking with MyKhel in an exclusive interview, Rahim Nabi questioned the purpose of Beckham's visit and lamented the footballing body AIFF for not arranging some kind of interaction with India's footballing fraternity.

"Beckham was taken to a cricket stadium, yes he came for the World Cup, but we failed to meet the legend with the young generation. What is the purpose of his visit then? The same thing happened with Ronaldinho as well. If we can't make them interact with our future footballers, what is the purpose?" a baffled Rahim Nabi told MyKhel.

"Going to a cricket stadium is fine, but our youths would have felt great to spend some time with a legend such as Beckham, but we failed to do it," Nabi added.

Incidentally, Brazilian legend Ronaldinho also came to India recently and his trip to Kolkata was mainly focused on cutting ribbons for Durga Puja festival mandaps in Kolkata.

The former Mohun Bagan player also questioned the rights of 'certain people' who were seen in the same frame as Sachin Tendulkar and David Beckham.

David Beckham himself said to Sachin Tendulkar that it was his first-ever visit to India. And it only feels like a huge opportunity missed as the youths of our football contingent were denied again from a lifetime moment.

The Indian football team meanwhile secured a magnificent victory over Kuwait in their World Cup 2026 qualifiers on Thursday (November 16). Manvir Singh scored the solitary goal of the match as the Blue Tigers started Round 2 of Asian qualifiers with three important points.