David Beckham took part in a ceremony of the Establishment of the Youth Football Fund at the Great Hall of the People in China. The Beckhams had donated a Jaguar sports car and six football jerseys for a charity auction during a visit to China in June last year, raising 2.58 million yuan ($415,000) for the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation.

The donation is now being used to form the Youth Football Fund Supported by David Beckham. The foundation will donate school buses for the Xinjiang Soong Ching Ling Football School in Urumqi, the region's capital, and build an artificial soccer pitch for the Kashgar No 8 Primary School in southern Xinjiang, where public enthusiasm for the game is high.

"Obviously I'm very proud of my involvement with the foundation. Everybody knows how important youth and the children are to myself."