Adidas are one the major sponsors of the summer 2012 Olympics. It has embarked on a major ad campaign featuring David Beckham as its ‘main man’. Some of the ads seem to have it as a given that David Beckham would feature in the GB football team.
It wouldn’t be the first time that a sponsor has chosen a team. In France 1998, Brazil had to bow to contractual obligations with Nike that meant that Giovanni had to feature in the team, despite bad form and not deserving his squad place. Brazil obliged by playing him in the first half of their first match against Scotland. He wasn’t seen again in the tournament. Infamously, in the final, it was said that a clearly not-up-for-it Ronaldo played also only at the insistence of Nike.
RTG would love it for GB to do well in this tournament, but a lot of our passion for it will evaporate if it’s viewed as another corporate vehicle promoting its products and celebrity at the cost of sporting endeavour. There are many, many better choices than David Beckham.
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