Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton has called on English football to honour the memory of former British PM Baroness Margaret Thatcher.

On a day when the Barclays Premier League, Football League and FA decided they would do nothing to mark Lady Thatcher's passing, World Cup winner Sir Bobby flew the flag for the sport.

"She was a great leader of men, absolutely first class and there is every reason why it should be recorded, what she has done," said Charlton on Wednesday while speaking at Manchester's Soccerex convention.

"Football wasn't her main theme and wasn't exactly in her thoughts a lot of the time, but she did notice it was important to people.

"I think she was just sensational during the period when the Falklands War was on. This lady, this was some strong cookie. You could never say she was not positive, but at the same time, the unions maybe had an effort (the miners' strike) that was guided by Margaret Thatcher. They maybe thought they were badly done to - which may be an understatement. But she was such a great person and great leader."