David Beckham: ‘My grandfather would follow me everywhere to watch me play”
The football legend gave a nod to his Jewish roots and spoke about his work as a UNICEF ambassador at JW3
Francine Wolfisz is the Features Editor for Jewish News.
David Beckham gave a nod to his Jewish roots tonight by paying tribute to his late grandfather.
Speaking about his childhood, the football icon told a 200-strong audience at JW3 that he was “very lucky that from a very young age, my parents, two sisters and grandparents supported me.”
Referring to his Jewish maternal grandfather, Joseph West, who died in 2009, the 41-year-old sports star said: “My grandad would follow me everywhere to watch me play.”
The former England captain added that he feels partly Jewish and although he was not brought up in the faith, recalls that “whenever [my grandfather] went to synagogue, I was a part of that.”
Beckham appeared at the Finchley Road venue in conversation with Kirsty Young, as part of the Alan Howard Foundation/JW3 Speaker Series.
The oversubscribed event, for which JW3 received 700 applications for just 200 tickets, largely focused on Beckham’s involvement as an ambassador with UNICEF UK, since 2005.
He also spoke about 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund which he launched last year to focus on specific issues involving young people around the world.
While he has been engaged with a number of charities over the years, Beckham recalled how UNICEF made a particular impression on him.
“I knew I wanted to be involved and that’s what I wanted to do when I finished playing.”
The father-of-four, who is married to former pop star and fashion designer Victoria Beckham, added: “Even before I had children I really cared about children. My kids are like that and my mum tells me that I was exactly the same as well!”
Away from his career and charity work, Beckham also revealed anecdotes about his personal life, including that he was introduced to Victoria thanks to the matchmaking efforts of Manchester United’s Jewish non-executive director Michael Edelson.
He recalls how he had met the successful girl band member a week before in the player’s lounge following a 1-1 tie against Chelsea – but she left with friend and fellow Spice Girl Mel C before he was able to get her number.
“I thought, damn, I’ve missed my chance. But then a week later she turned up at Old Trafford. Victoria is not the biggest football fan! But then Michael walked in with her and I thought I’ll get her number this time!”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
