WHAT could be more perfect? Greats like Eric Cantona and Matt Le Tissier doing what they do best, football on a beach, as much beer as you can consume, pumping music and plenty of scantily clad members of the opposite sex?

Well, searing sunshine I suppose.

But this is England and the overcast weather at Brighton for large parts of the 'Kronenbourg Cup', particularly the Friday exhibition match between Saints All Stars and Brighton All Stars, was fairly predictable.

Indeed the lack of sunshine generally is probably the main explanation for the relative newness of this sport in England, compared to the continent.

Not that it seemed to bother the somewhat ageing Brighton or Southampton teams, nor the crowd who indulged in plenty of friendly banter with Saints' captain Le Tissier.

Predictably the jokes centred on, well, Le Tisser's centre - a physique which is slightly more rotund since he hung up his boots last year after 17 seasons with Saints.

But playing in his old number seven red and white striped shirt for the second time in a week following the Masters tournament last Sunday, the great man seemed thoroughly unconcerned by the banter.

The match with Brighton was something of a thriller with moments of breathtaking skill and comedy mistakes intersecting large periods where the teams struggled to come to terms with the demands of playing on sand.

Brighton eventually ran out 7-6 winners in a see-saw battle which saw Saints lead 5-4 and 6-5, with Le Tissier and Nicky Banger each contributing two apiece.

At the end of the day the emphasis was on having a bit of fun as a curtain-raiser to the more serious matches between England, France, Italy and Portugal in the Pro-Beach European league.

Last season Le Tissier played for the England team, but in many ways his absence from the competitive matches was a sign of how the sport has moved on in the past 12 months.

Other than captain John Scales, the England team is made up of specialist young players like Southampton's Daniel Farry or GC Giancovich and TD Al Said, both from the Isle of Wight.

Indeed, beach football is a sport very different from its grass relation.

The ball cannot effectively be used on the floor with getting caught up in sand, meaning volleying moves in the air are most effective.

It also means former professionals who frequently make the mistake of trying to dribble, before ending up in a huge heap, are inferior to the growing crop of full-time beach footballers across the continent, such as the breathtaking Portugese player Alan Cavalcanti.

Joel Cantona, brother of Eric and manager of the French national team, explained: "You need to have very good technical ability. It is a very physical game and not easy on the players.

"You need good balance and with the reduced size of the field you have to be very concentrated as goals can go in from anywhere."

Scales added: "You have to look at beach football as a completely different game to grass football.

"But I still enjoy the competitive element of sport so it's great just to be out there playing when you have been at the highest level.

"I feel beach soccer may have found a natural home in Brighton with the pier and just the whole atmosphere of the place.

"The venue here is second to none and the support has been outstanding."

The game is still in its infancy in Britain, with some of the professionals abroad as famous as regular footballers.

Indeed, it is rumoured that some earn as much as £100,000 a year.

Things are slightly different on these shores with star striker Giancovich, for example, also working as a chef.

Whether beach football in Britain will ever raise beyond minor sport status is probably doubtful.

Our beaches and climate are hardly as conducive to the sport as those abroad. Indeed 400-tonnes of specially washed and treated sand had to be shipped in from Chichester for the big Brighton event.

But with acrobatic finishing the order of the day, it can certainly be a spectacle. The weekend's entertainment was superb, it was a real event for the 3,000 strong crowd and certainly a great day-out for all the family.

And to see the likes of Le Tissier and Cantona gracing any footballing arena will forever be an honour.

ENGLAND eventually lost all three of their games in the Kronenbourg Cup on Brighton beach.

But despite the results, they were able to take much from the competition after giving some of the world's best teams a run for their money.

Isle of Wight duo GC Giancovich and TD Al Said both played in the opener on Friday against European champions Portugal, with Al Said scoring England's first goal of the weekend.

Eventually, though, they went down 6-4, with Victor Renner on target twice for England.

On Saturday Southampton's Daniel Farry came in for the match against Eric Cantona's France, with Giancovich left out.

But despite a hat-trick from Renner, England eventually lost 7-5.

The final match of the weekend was against Italy yesterday afternoon.

Terry Bowes scored a hat-trick and both Giancovich and Al Said were also on target, with Farry also playing, as England again lost 7-5.

Portugal remain favourites ahead of France as the Pro-Beach tour moves to Marseille this week for the next round of the 2003 series.

England are next in action on the weekend of July 25-27 in Italy.