Über celeb David Beckham has been signed to help pull Chinese soccer out of its deep crisis. He will have his work cut out. Last year, 58 officials were banned and the country's top referee jailed for five years in a long-running bribery and match-fixing scandal. Fans roll their eyes in despair when you mention the native branch of the beautiful game. Many called for the former head of the Chinese Football Association, Nan Yong, to be shot after he was convicted of taking bribes. In the circumstances, Nan can count himself lucky to have got away with a ten-and-a-half year sentence.

CFA officials hope Beckham's appointment as football ambassador will restore the image of China's not-so-Super League and attract young people back to the game. They may well be on to something. Beckham's is probably the second most recognized foreign face in China after Barack Obama. Everyone knows who "Bakerhamu" is, even if many teenage girls have lately switched their allegiance to Justin Beiber.

After all, the coiffured one is not just any old superstar. The Posh and Becks double act, along with Brangelina, helped define contemporary celebrity culture. Without them there would be no Kardashians – a consequence we may regret but there is no disputing Beck's standing in the global A-list. He made number five in the Forbes 100 Celebrity List in 2008 and was still at number 32 last year. He has $300 million in the bank and a $22 million mansion in Hollywood as well as the notorious "Beckingham Palace" near London.

Sceptics are already comparing Beckham's appointment with the short and unhappy Chinese sojourn of troubled genius Paul Gascoigne. But the circumstances couldn't be more different. Tyneside at its foggiest could not compete for sheer misery with bleak and polluted Lanzhou where over-the-hill, cash-strapped Gazza signed for local club Tianma. He lasted for just four games and is presently languishing in an American rehab clinic, fees paid thanks to a whip-round organized by former teammates.

Admittedly there have been other false starts. Ivory Coast superstar Didier Drogba decamped to Turkish club Galatasaray just six months into his two-and-a-half year contract with Shanghai Shenhua. His former Chelsea team mate Nicolas Anelka, lasted just over a year at Shenhua before moving to Juventus.

But Becks is no Gazza and his appointment at least as likely to be a shot in the arm as another one in the foot. He is not being asked to turn out on the pitch – although it won't hurt that at 37 he is still playing at the top level with Paris St Germain. His role will be to boost the image of the game and promote it at the grass roots. He seems ideal for the job. A clean cut, genuinely nice guy, he has no particular vices, unless you count addiction to the limelight. Allegations of playing away from Victoria have not seriously damaged him. Some will complain he is not worth his fee but despite speculation in the Italian media that he will pick up an astonishing $75 million, the People's Daily insistence that he will pocket less than $4 million may be nearer the mark.

Of course hiring Beckham is not a magic bullet. The greatest problem facing Chinese football is that school kids have no time to play because they spend every waking hour swotting for exams. Education is a national neurosis. As hard as teachers drive their students, parents are worse oppressors, arranging cramming classes at weekends and even setting extra homework. With their shoulders permanently sloped to one side by their schoolbags, probably half of Chinese kids can scarcely run for a bus.

Then there is China's obsession with basketball – a strangely popular sport in which a point is scored every 20 seconds and games are decided by which team nets last. Brought to China by American missionaries, its present success is partly due to a basketball court being a tenth the size of a football pitch, leaving more space for hideous tower blocks. If Beckham can use his influence to get more football pitches in schools and induce a million or so kids to swap hoops for goalposts he will have earned his fee.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

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