David Beckham has defended his role as an ambassador for Qatar saying the World Cup will be a platform for 'progress, inclusivity and tolerance'.
Beckham, on a reported £150million 10-year deal, was seen in a video image at a youth festival in Doha. He told the fans that "today is your day to dream". The issue of workers' and LGBT+ rights remains in the build up to this World Cup.
But Beckham said: "Qatar dreamed of bringing the World Cup to a place that it had never been before, but that it wouldn't be enough just to achieve things on the pitch. The pitch would be a platform for progress."
He added: "Dreams can come true. That is why you are here. You share Generation Amazing's twin passions for the game of football and for making the world a more tolerant and inclusive place."
Beckham has been increasingly criticised by LGBT+ groups, with Di Cunningham, co-founder of the Three Lions Pride group, saying he should no longer be considered a great ally because of his paid ambassador role.
Beckham said Qatar and its ambassadors were changing lives for the better. "Every one of the great players I was lucky enough to play with started exactly the same way," he said. "In a back garden, park, or a street outside their home with just a ball and an imagination that they dared to let run wild.
"Almost two decades ago, a small group of football lovers from Qatar had an equally fantastic dream: that they could bring the greatest football show on earth to their home country and to the Middle East for the very first time. And now we are here.
"Because when dreams are harnessed and mixed with dedication and hard work, they are no longer dreams, they become reality. I want to say to all of you, 'today is your day to dream'. Because there are no limits to what you and your teammates can achieve in our beautiful game."
The Mirror told earlier this year how Beckham had been chosen as the face of a new multi-million pound Qatar 2022 tourism drive, with a trip lined up to the five-star resort 'Banana Island'.
The breathtaking sanctuary and spa includes magnificent 'floating rooms' on stilts above the sea. They come with their own infinity pool and villa host to prepare food and cater to your every need.
And the star, nicknamed Goldenballs, will be able to relax on the 'desert island paradise' which gets its name because it bends like one of his famous free kicks.
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The Mirror was given a VIP guided tour of Banana Island which will see celebrities, footballers and their wives bend it like Beckham at the Arab world's first ever World Cup.
It offered £3,500-a-night floating rooms, picturesque beaches, stunning sunset views and even 'Spice Spoons' cooking class - just in case Posh comes too. Beckham, 47, was also be seen riding on a motorbike through the capital Doha.
The campaign encourages air travellers who pass through Qatar en route to worldwide destinations every year to take a 'stopover' holiday.
Berthold Trenkel, chief operating officer for Qatar Tourism, said: " David Beckham is a great story, he is a great guy and he is such a celebrity.
"He is well known in the US, he is of course well known in the UK and the rest of Europe. He can show what you can do in 48 or 96 hours here." He added: "Around 96 percent of air traffic into Qatar passes through. So how do we get more people out to enjoy a few nights here?"
Beckham was filmed meeting 'Qataris from all walks of life'. And his 36-minute film will be seen by footy fans on Qatar Airlines arriving this weekend.
