Beckham to Open Soccer Academy in China, Tour With L.A. Galaxy

May 15 (Bloomberg) -- Former England captain David Beckham will set up a soccer academy in China and tour the most populous nation with the Los Angeles Galaxy, the club's owner said.

Beckham, who will join the Galaxy from Real Madrid in July, will choose Shanghai, Beijing, Macau or another unidentified Chinese city as the site for his first academy in Asia, said Tim Leiweke, chief executive officer of Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Los Angeles-based company that owns the Galaxy.

``We'd like to have something done with David by the time he starts playing for the Galaxy because we're going to have other things we're doing here,'' Leiweke said in an interview at the International Football Arena's conference in Beijing today. ``We'll be announcing extended training and touring of China.''

Beckham signed a five-year contract with the Galaxy in January that will pay him a Major League Soccer-record base salary of $5.5 million annually and may be worth as much as $250 million with his cut from jersey sales and endorsements.

Beckham will attract revenue that more than covers his salary based on his global popularity that extends to Asia, Leiweke said. He didn't say when Galaxy will visit China.

``I've always had fantastic support from people in Asia and it is an honor to have an academy there,'' Beckham said in a tender document for an academy in Asia issued in July.

The 32-year-old former Manchester United midfielder has established youth academies in Los Angeles and London as part of ventures with Anschutz. Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment, which created American Idol, is a partner of the Asia academy.

Other academies are planned for Asia, where Beckham has been mobbed by fans on previous tours with United and Madrid. He is set to make his Galaxy debut against England's Chelsea on July 21 in an exhibition game in Los Angeles.

The London academy, located next to the former Millennium Dome in Greenwich, is the biggest children's sports teaching facility in Europe, according to a statement from Beckham, Anschutz and 19 Entertainment.

Beckham has already brought the Galaxy an additional $13.3 million in revenue, more than enough to cover his salary for two years, Leiweke said last month.

``David Beckham will pay for himself,'' Leiweke said today.