David Beckham,?snubbed?by coach Stuart Pearce for Britain's Olympic football squad, will still play a starring role in the 2012 Games.

Carrying the Team GB flag or lighting the Olympic flame are among the options to be discussed by Lord Coe's organising committee and the British Olympic Association in the next few days, with both bodies – like the Football Association – shocked and disappointed at the 37-year-old former England captain's exclusion as one of the three permitted over-age players.

Coe, irked at being deprived of the opportunity to reward Beckham for his friend's vote-catching role in winning the Games, as well as to boost flagging football ticket sales, has promised a prominent part for him at the opening ceremony.

It is possible that the BOA could nominate him as a special attaché to the 550-strong Team GB, which would allow him to wear the uniform, march in the parade or even carry the flag, a role traditionally given to an outstanding competitor.

Alternatively bookmakers have now installed him at 2-1 to light the cauldron, behind only odds-on favourite Sir Steve Redgrave, the five-times Olympic rowing gold medallist. The pair could even do it in tandem alongside other established Olympic icons such as Dame Kelly Holmes, Daley Thompson and Coe himself.

Whatever part Beckham plays, it is certain to be more than a token ambassadorial one, although the debate rages on as to whether he has been axed on merit, or is the victim of a selection bias in the same vein as jilted taekwondo star Aaron Cook, who only this week gave up his own legal battle to overturn his omission.

Pearce has chosen Ryan Giggs, Craig Bellamy and Micah Richards as his over-age players, picking Richards ahead of Beckham because he wanted extra cover in defence. Others expected to make the squad are fringe internationals like Tom Cleverley, Daniel Sturridge, Ryan Bertrand and Birmingham City goalkeeper Jack Butland, the one player available for selection despite having been at the European Championships. Gareth Bale is likely to miss out with a back injury but his Welsh team-mate Aaron Ramsey is expected to be chosen in the squad of 18, which may not feature any players from Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Great Britain's first group match is against Senegal at Old Trafford on 26 July, the day before the official Games opening ceremony.

【新聞快訊】

作為目前名氣最大的英國(guó)足球明星，貝克漢姆被踢出英國(guó)國(guó)奧隊(duì)曾引起軒然大波，但這并不代表小貝將缺席奧運(yùn)會(huì)，據(jù)來自英國(guó)媒體的最新消息稱，貝克漢姆有可能擔(dān)任英國(guó)代表團(tuán)在奧運(yùn)會(huì)開幕式上的旗手，或?qū)⒂H手點(diǎn)燃奧運(yùn)圣火，英國(guó)奧組委希望借此來表達(dá)對(duì)小貝在申辦奧運(yùn)方面做出的巨大貢獻(xiàn)。

英國(guó)申辦奧運(yùn)會(huì)時(shí)，貝克漢姆曾作為形象大使為最終申辦成功付出了巨大的努力，而他在本屆奧運(yùn)會(huì)上的最大夢(mèng)想，就是渴望以球員身份代表英國(guó)國(guó)奧隊(duì)出戰(zhàn)。國(guó)奧主帥皮爾斯本來將貝克漢姆列入了35人大名單，但最終在遴選18人名單時(shí)卻將他剔除，這也讓小貝的夢(mèng)想淪為泡影。皮爾斯此舉也引來前英格蘭主帥埃里克森的炮轟：“他是一位旗幟，不管以哪種方式，他都應(yīng)該融入到奧運(yùn)會(huì)當(dāng)中來。”

或許是埃里克森的話刺激到了英國(guó)奧組委的神經(jīng)。據(jù)來自英國(guó)《獨(dú)立報(bào)》的獨(dú)家消息稱，英國(guó)奧組委主席塞巴斯蒂安-科伊已經(jīng)承諾，將會(huì)為小貝在奧運(yùn)會(huì)上安排一個(gè)新的角色。該報(bào)表示，在英國(guó)申辦奧運(yùn)會(huì)的時(shí)候，貝克漢姆利用自己的人脈和對(duì)外形象積極拉票，而在隨后的奧運(yùn)會(huì)門票出售環(huán)節(jié)，小貝又以自己的影響力促進(jìn)了英國(guó)民眾現(xiàn)場(chǎng)觀看奧運(yùn)的熱情.

《獨(dú)立報(bào)》稱，接下來奧組委將討論英國(guó)奧運(yùn)代表團(tuán)的旗手，以及點(diǎn)燃奧運(yùn)會(huì)主火炬的人選，這對(duì)于任何運(yùn)動(dòng)員來說都是值得銘記一生的特殊時(shí)刻，而英國(guó)奧組委主席塞巴斯蒂安-科伊已經(jīng)提名讓小貝擔(dān)任這個(gè)角色。