LONDON (AFP) - Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has teamed up with Marcus Rashford to tackle child food poverty in Britain.

United striker Rashford was awarded an MBE following his recent campaign which saw the government change its mind on providing free school meals for children during holidays.

Now the 23-year-old has said Ferguson is set to pledge up to £2 million (S$3.56 million) towards the FareShare charity for which he is an ambassador.

An appeal in The Times is aiming to raise funds and Rashford revealed that Ferguson, alongside billionaire Michael Moritz, will match donations up to the aforementioned sum and described the news as "incredible".

Ferguson, 78, grew up in Glasgow in tough conditions and believes Rashford has done a great job in highlighting the plight facing families across the country.

"You have to be shocked at the number of people who are in need of food," he said in an interview with the paper.

"Marcus has opened the eyes of everyone in Britain. The work he's done has been fantastic and we're all so proud of him because of that.

"What Marcus has done is he's led the way - people will say, 'That boy he's only 23 years of age'. People who are in their later ages... should be saying, 'I can do something'."

Rashford never played under Ferguson, making his English Premier League debut for United as an 18-year-old nearly three years after the legendary boss retired in 2013.