Beckham's long-lost Kiwi relatives

If football superstar David Beckham returns to New Zealand this year as expected, he might unwittingly find himself surrounded by long-lost relatives.

Researchers using Public Profiler, an online database website that tracks surnames around the world, found a higher concentration of Beckhams in Northland than anywhere else – though the highest number of Beckhams is in the United States, where Beckham plays with LA Galaxy.

Confirmation is expected this week that LA Galaxy will play an Oceania XI in Auckland on December 6.