WHEN it comes to a football education, Manchester United are the equivalent of Oxford or Cambridge.

You only have to look at the players who have graduated with honours at Old Trafford to realise that: Duncan Edwards, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham. The list's endless.

And while other clubs have increasingly relied on foreign imports to pep up their challenge for honours, United have built success round a core of home-grown players. Seven of Fergie's "strongest XI" that played in the final game of the season at Everton were from the British Isles. Imagine the outcry if the Government decided that the only students who could attend Oxford or Cambridge were those who lived within 90 minutes' travelling distance, or those from abroad.

That is what the FA's Academy rules are dictating to United, who have spent '9m on a fantastic facility at Carrington and have populated it with some of the best coaching staff in the world.

The rules have been drawn up in the right spirit: they are aimed at protecting young footballers from burn-out at a time in their lives when academic studies are as important, if not more important, as their football aspirations.

Damaging

But United Academy director Les Kershaw believes that they are also damaging England's chances of producing a team to challenge for major honours.

Rather than wrangle with the rules, or pay exorbitant fees to "transfer" promising kids from other academies, United have taken a more expansive view.

They are widening their scouting network to cover the globe, and increasingly it will be foreign boys who get the benefit of the facilities, only a stone's throw from the first-team training base in Carrington.

"There is nothing we can do about it," said Kershaw who oversees the recruitment and training of youngsters, from eight to 19, in United's Academy. Under the rules, it's far easier to take a Belgian boy than it is to bring one in from Birmingham. Is that going to help England win the World Cup?

"We signed a 16-year-old Belgian boy last week and this summer we are bringing in youth internationals from Germany and the US, and an Irish boy, who all cost us nothing.

"But I am not here to help England win the World Cup. My job is to help United win the Premier League every year. If the rules had been in place 50 years ago, Edwards, Charlton and Beckham may have been prevented from coming to United as boys."

The FA point out that all three would probably still have blossomed into England players, but perhaps at their home-town clubs, Wolves, Newcastle and Spurs.

Fan-base

United's point is that there are boys outside the 90-minute limit who are desperate to come to Reds because they support the side, as was the case with Beckham, or simply because they want to come to the best and biggest club in the country.

And they feel that to prevent youngsters from fulfilling their dreams is an infringement of their basic human rights. United have the money and the staff to ensure that youngsters who come to them are well looked after.

Beckham came to Manchester as a 15-year-old because United could afford to ensure he was properly treated.

"Because we are a club that has money to do these things, we should be allowed to do them," argued Kershaw. "We would be doing them in the better interests of development, but the rules are stopping us.

"Look at the team that won the Youth Cup last month. We had to buy Kieran Richardson from West Ham, Chris Eagles from Watford, Lee Sims and Eddie Johnson from Crewe, and goalkeeper Luke Steele from Peterborough."

Now, despite an extensive scouting network in Britain, the Reds are looking abroad, as well as continuing their efforts on finding the best young talents in the north.

That's why they are steadily building a carefully-selected network of links with clubs across the globe.

Alliances

They already have alliances with clubs in Norway, Belgium, France, Australia, Sweden, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, and are looking at a relationship with an Academy in South Africa.

For the first time in their history, United are looking at the beaches and barrios of Brazil for talent.

Passport laws have made it traditionally difficult for English clubs to sign young South American talent and only established internationals could make the trans-Atlantic trip. But a new tie-up with Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon will open a doorway to Brazil, due to the historic links between those two countries.

Brazilians will be able to pick up European Union passports by joining Sporting and from there they can sign for United.

It is just another step towards establishing a worldwide scouting network aimed at trawling the best teenaged talents on the planet and bringing them to United.

For the first time the Reds have a full-time scout in Brazil, and the establishment of close links with Sporting, a former club of assistant manager Carlos Queiroz, will complete the chain.

They have an outstanding 15-year-old Brazilian boy in their sights. United have strong links with Royal Antwerp, a club which opens the gateway into the vast football potential of Africa, where they have a scout.

As well as the full-time men in Brazil, Germany and Africa, they have two part-time scouts in Holland, and one in France.

They have left Spain and Italy untouched, as they are unlikely to be able to compete with those countries' top sides.

But the stark truth for young United wannabes in the Manchester area, looking to emulate Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, the Nevilles and Nicky Butt, is that it is going to get harder to get a foot in the door.

Five facts you might not know

1. The Carrington staff have a football score prediction competition - Sir Alex Ferguson finished 43rd out of 45 entrants, and he was two places above assistant Carlos Queiroz! Winner was Academy administrator Clare Nicholas.

2. Some players eat chocolate bars during matches to keep up his energy levels.

3. Sir Alex Ferguson usually tells young contracted players himself if they are being released by the club.

4. The Reds have 35 `local' scouts scouring northern England, plus another 42 throughout the rest of the UK `nd Ireland.

5. Man Utd plc employs 495 people on a permanent basis

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