The World Cup is just days away and there is no better time for Yahoo! Sports to announce a momentous piece of soccer news. David Beckham, the world's most recognizable and iconic football figure of recent times, is linking up with the world's best sports website. It gives me great pleasure to welcome David, the Los Angeles Galaxy and England midfielder, to the Yahoo! team as Global Football Ambassador.

As a star of three World Cups, David is looking forward to sharing all the excitement of the tournament with the Yahoo! family of readers. Beckham brings a wealth of experience, real-life history, and enthusiasm to Yahoo!’s coverage of the World Cup. His exclusive content thoroughly enhances our already stellar line-up of offerings, including 16 global soccer sites, mobile experiences in 40 markets, rich search tools and a comprehensive writing and video crew in South Africa.

You won't be able to miss David's involvement with Yahoo! as he'll be fronting the company's World Cup advertising campaign. I offered my own face for use on the billboards, but we decided it was better to stop traffic for all the RIGHT reasons. I’m certain soccer fans everywhere will appreciate learning how one of the biggest names in soccer uses Yahoo! for news, views and up to the minute information when the big events happen.

As I write this in the shadow of Soccer City, the showpiece stadium which hosts the final on July 11, the vibrant and mystical nation of South Africa is raring to showcase its passion for life and soccer to the world. With David joining our award-winning group, Yahoo! Sports is the only place to be for World Cup coverage. Check out our in-depth stories, features, columns and videos, and try your hand at the Yahoo! Sports World Soccer 2010 fantasy game.

And most important of all, enjoy the World Cup, the tournament where the beautiful game captivates a global audience for one wonderful month.

Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports