Feature: British football legend David Beckham plays charity match in Nepal

Bhaktapur Durbar Square, a UNESCO world heritage landmark in the Himalayan nation, was the site Friday of a once-in-a-lifetime event when British football legend David Beckman played for a charity match as part of his global tour.

Since early morning, Nepali youths, many of them football enthusiasts, started to converge on the square to watch the game. Some youths were seen carrying national flags and many of them wearing red jersey of Manchester United.

Many of them also kept their mobile sets and cameras on standby mode as they waited to take a glimpse of the football superstar.

Beckham, who arrived here on Friday morning, played a charity match for a few minutes with students of Padma Higher Secondary School, which is located within the Durbar Square premises.

His charity game in Kathmandu was part of his seven-nation tour across seven continents to promote awareness on the plight of the world's children and raise funds for the United Nations Children Fund (Unicef) of which Beckman is a goodwill ambassador.

Addressing the huge crowd prior to the football match, Rupa Joshi, communications head at UNICEF Nepal said, "Nepal has been chosen as one of the destinations for the project "7 games in 7 continents."

"It's a proud moment for us, so let us all cooperate to make this event a success and memorable."

Beckham also gamely played football with schoolchildren at Taumadhi Square in front of the ancient and historical Nyatapola Temple at Bhaktapur.

His charity match in this landlocked nation, which has not yet fully recovered from a strong earthquake, was Beckman's second stop since he already played a charity match in Papua New Guinea's highlands on Thursday.

Thirteen-year-old Rasna Budathoki, who played the match with the football star, told Xinhua that he could not believe that he played with the soccer legend. "I have only watched him playing football on TV but today I am playing with him. This is the most memorable moment in my life," Rasna said.

The match at Durbar Square was filmed by the BBC as part of its documentary, "David Beckham: For the Love of the Game." The documentary, according to a local football official, is about the role that football plays in changing lives across the globe.

The global trip has seven matches, seven countries, and seven continents as the number 7 is his lucky number on his England and Manchester United shirts.

The crowd wildly cheered Beckham, who was dressed in black t-shirt and cream colored pants, as he chased the ball in the brick-carved floor.

Shiva Bujhu, the vice president of local Taumadhi Youth Club, which managed the event, told Xinhua that they did not expect the big crowd that witnessed the match since they did not have any promotion. "We are happy that the event was a success," Shiva said.

Beckham, a father of four, is scheduled to play other matches in Buenos Aires in Argentina, Djibouti, Miami of the United States, Antarctica and Britain.

Earlier, in a statement, the UNICEF said that it is Beckman's "personal commitment to use his powerful global voice, influence and connections to raise vital funds and advocate for change for children across every region of the world." Endit