Beckham to get UEFA award for soccer, humanitarian work

NYON, Switzerland — David Beckham will get the UEFA President's Award for 2018 next week in Monaco to recognize his soccer achievements and humanitarian work.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder is "a true football icon."The annual award rewards "outstanding achievements, professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities."Beckham was the first English player to make 100 appearances in the Champions League. He helped Man United win the title in 1999.

Beckham also launched the 7 Fund in partnership with UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, which runs projects in El Salvador, Indonesia, Nepal and Uganda.

Ceferin praised Beckham for "promoting the game and all its values in every corner of the planet. His tireless humanitarian efforts ... should also be celebrated."