David Beckham to be given Lifetime Achievement award

The 35-year-old midfielder is England's most capped outfield player and won six Premier League titles and the Champions League crown with Manchester United.

He won the Spanish league with Real Madrid after a £25m move from United before joining Los Angeles Galaxy and also spent two loan spells at AC Milan.

In 2001 Beckham was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

The lifetime honour is one of several awards which will be presented during the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show from 1900 GMT on Sunday.

"David's record on and off the pitch has been remarkable," BBC Sports Personality of the Year editor Carl Doran said.

"It's a fitting reward for an outstanding career as a player and for his tireless work as an ambassador for British sport. He has also been a tremendous role model and I'm sure he'll get an amazing reaction from the public in Birmingham."

Nine years ago Beckham won the main award, voted for by the public, after an outstanding display for England against Greece in which his late free-kick earned the national side a place in the 2002 World Cup finals.

His England career began in September 1996 against Moldova with his latest, and 115th, cap coming against Belarus in October 2009. He also captained England 59 times in that period.

See www.news.bbc.co.uk for full version.