Wellington  - A year after David Beckham drew the biggest crowd ever to watch a football match in New Zealand his star attraction appears to be fading, according to news reports on Friday.

Organizers of an exhibition match between Beckham's LA Galaxy side and an Oceania All Stars XI in Auckland on Saturday were advertising two tickets for the price of one to try to fill the 32,000-seat Mount Smart Stadium.

Only 14,000 tickets had been sold by Thursday night, the New Zealand Herald reported.

A year ago, Beckham and the Galaxy attracted nearly 32,000 spectators to a match in Wellington, a record crowd for the sport in rugby-mad New Zealand.

Saturday's match has been organized by the Auckland Regional Council, whose spokesman Lance Vervoort, said up to 20,000 ticket sales were needed to cover the cost of bringing the team to New Zealand.

The game will be screened on free-to-air television. (dpa)