United academy coach Tony Byrne tells www.au.fourfourtwo.com that the schools replicate what is taught back in Manchester.

“All the staff at the MUSS are full-time employees of Manchester United, so it’s about taking a piece of the club on the road. And we don’t just look at kids as players, we look at them as people too, so there is a focus on codes of conduct, nutrition as well as the coaching.”

Sessions are of three-hour duration, open to both boys and girls aged from 10-16 years regardless of ability.

All coaches have undergone Emergency Aid training in the UK and are UEFA qualified to the FA Level 3 standard (formerly known as UEFA “B”) and have graduated through the MUSS programs in Manchester.

“The MUSS are worldwide,” adds Byrne, 36. “We have our Carrington Academy for young players hoping to make the first team, we have our community programs and we have the MUSS in places such as Hong Kong, Dubai and now in Melbourne.”

This is the first time MUSS have launched in Australia. The programs in Melbourne over the next two weeks will be a “soft launch” explains Byrne, as the club tests the waters here.

“We have a great relationship with Jesper [Olsen] so it was a natural fit for us to launch in Melbourne.”

Jesper Olsen is a former Manchester United star who won the FA Cup with the Red Devils in the 1980s.

Olsen lives in Melbourne now and runs a schools program called Fun Football. He also administers the MUSS programs.

“The MUSS are not about player recruitment. It’s about playing the United way,” Olsen tells www.au.fourfourtwo.com

“Learning the way the first team plays with movement, technique and tactics. We’re teaching the way we like the game to be played.”

MUSS in Melbourne are running until April 14. For more information and to register, log onto www.muss-aus.com.au