MLS show must go on without Beckham

MIAMI, Aug 31 (Reuters) David Beckham's debut season in Major League Soccer is almost over just two weeks after he made his first start for his team LA Galaxy, with injury problems ruining the best laid plans of the sport's marketing men.

Beckham has been sidelined for about six weeks after picking up a knee ligament injury in the Superliga final against Mexican team Pachuca on Wednesday.

The injury rules Beckham out of England's Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia next month but the impact on the Galaxy and Major League Soccer is more profound.

The MLS regular season finishes on Oct. 21 and even if Beckham gets back to full match fitness in six weeks, he would be available only for the last two games of the season.

With the Galaxy bottom of the Western Conference they are unlikely to be in contention for a playoff position in October and so there would be little or no sporting reason to get Beckham back on the field.

Having arrived to an orchestrated campaign of media and commercial hype, Beckham's ankle injury and now his hurt knee have meant his first season for the Galaxy has consisted of 310 minutes in six games in various competitions -- not a great return on his annual salary of 6.5 million dollars.

Yet even an unfit Beckham proved he was capable of delivering the boost in interest that the MLS was convinced he would bring to soccer in the US.

PROFILE RISE Merchandising sales have risen dramatically, the profile of the game in the media has been enhanced and traffic to MLS's official Web site has doubled.

More importantly, Beckham has set the turnstiles ticking.

Over 66,000 fans watched him in New York and 46,000 turned out in Washington, crowds far above the average for the MLS.

Now though, instead of a bumper crowd and a concentrated focus of attention on their team, some MLS clubs face a PR nightmare having marketed their games with the theme of 'Beckham is coming'.

On Sept. 19, LA travel to face Real Salt Lake for a game which is close to sold out due to the 'Becks factor'. Fans now hold tickets for a game against the worst team in Major League Soccer and the most they will see of Beckham, if anything, is a wave from the touchline.

''It is standard practice in team sports, particularly in the U.S, to market the stars who are coming to town. We saw it in the NBA with Michael Jordan,'' said MLS senior vice-president for marketing and communication Dan Courtemanche.

''At the same time, our clubs have also been straightforward in saying that there is no guarantee of a player appearance as anyone can suffer an injury,'' he added.

Beckham signed a five year deal with the Galaxy and those seeking to popularise the game via the sport's most marketable figure are now looking to the long term ''He signed a five year deal. David Beckham has already had an extraordinary impact not only on Major League Soccer but on soccer in the USA in general,'' said Courtemanche.

Reuters BJR VP0305