Bermuda Football Association president Larry Mussenden has called on clubs to switch to artificial pitches to improve playing conditions.

And he hopes work can begin on Gym Field in March with a synthetic surface ready for use by May, after citing scheduling hitches for the delay.

Mussenden said man-made pitches could increase participation and quality of playing time as too many grounds were suffering from overuse and were constantly having to be resurfaced.

Calling for all the major clubs to get on board, he said: ?We need to improve the playing surfaces. It might require synthetic surfaces.

?It has to improve in order for our playing and technical ability to improve.

?I have invited clubs to consider putting synthetic surfaces down because of the wear and tear our fields take all year round ? because of the cricket season and football season.

?Some fields look nice in September but come January they are pretty much in bad shape. They don?t get time to recover and rejuvenate themselves.

?We need to do that. There is a way to have a synthetic surface which will allow for 24/7 playing and would also allow for the central portions to come up to allow a cricket wicket to be put down.?

He stressed the man-made soccer fields wouldn?t have the notorious large bounce and knee-burning properties of early synthetic surfaces.

?It is not an Astroturf ? it is a grass-like surface. It?s almost artificial grass as opposed to Astroturf.

?Year by year we should move to put one or two in place.

?The money has to come from somewhere, but I think both fields at Shelly Bay should be synthetic fields as community fields.

?Also the fields that only do football ? right now BAA and North Village (Bernard Park). They should be synthetic surfaces.?

Even fields which also hosted cricket could be adapted to artificial surfaces, said Mussenden, who urged those clubs to think about switching too.

Asked about the slow progress at Gym Field which was earmarked for the new $800,000 national training facility after FIFA promised a huge cash injection, Mussenden said he hoped for progress in the new year.

?We are looking to sign off on the contract so work can get started. Because it?s FIFA money, FIFA pick the contractors for synthetic surfaces.

?They also sign the contract with the local contractors to do the subsurfacing and clear the field.?

A minimum size floodlit pitch is planned which requires widening and lengthening, said Mussenden who hopes for a March start.

?That is my estimate, knowing where we are with the contract ? hopefully by March we can get started.

?Once we start I am hoping we can turn it around in probably about two months. We had better see people playing there next year.?

The facility will be available for men?s and women?s national team training, girls training and for use by CedarBridge during the day. After that it would be available for clubs to hire for a small fee.

Mussenden said a revamp of facilities was needed all over.

?Shelly Bay needs work for starters. It certainly needs some changing rooms down there.

?We have to improve our changing facilities at all of our grounds.

?Our players should be able to have a secure changing room that has lockers, chairs or benches, that is clean and cleaned on a weekly basis, that has tiles in the showering area with hot water.?

The plan could take some years but would improve the whole footballing experience for players and match officials, said Mussenden.

He wants stewards equipped with radios to communicate with a clubhouse with a working PA system to manage the crowd.

?You can?t have 2,000 people coming and have no way to communicate with them. There also needs to be a paid Police presence.

?We need proper seating and lighting for the spectators.?

Mussenden was speaking ahead of the unveiling of the BFA?s six-year strategic plan in January which has a $36 million price tag and will run from 2007 to 2012.

It evolves the recruitment of a technical director, a youth director and a national fund development officer to tap into the charitable millions floating around Bermuda.

The BFA hope to raise around $3-4 million annually. ?It should be funded to that degree because of the three million hours of activity that contributes to the quality of life in Bermuda.?

Mussenden, who said he was excited about the strategic plan, stressed how important football was for Bermuda.

?We have 3,500 adult registered players. Over 1,600 male youth players, 275 women, 120 girls and 30 referees.

?We play over two and a half thousand matches every year under the auspices of the BFA.

?That equates to over 3,099,000 hours of football annually under us. That?s a huge undertaking.?

The cash would also be helpful for expanded overseas participation, said the BFA chief.

?Every time a team leave Bermuda it costs at least $30,000 to the BFA. Every time a team come to Bermuda it is probably about the same because the football protocol internationally is the host country has to pick up all on Island expenses ? accommodation, food, travel and laundry.

?That?s why gate revenue was critical.?

He explained funding trips abroad was so expensive as Caribbean trips needed several flights and sometimes stopovers in the US ? multiplied by 18 players and five to seven officials the costs could soon wrack up.

?We cover the unpaid salaries and wages from employers who do not pay the players.? And he said insurance and petty cash expenses also added to the costs.