Alfie Eve, son of late Bermuda Football Association founding member Dudley Eve, yesterday hit out at Government?s decision to rename the tournament honouring the memory and legacy of his father.

Government announced on Thursday that the Ministry of Education, Sports and Recreation had agreed to sponsor the annual football tournament for the next ten years to the tune of $150,000.

But while Eve said he ?appreciated? Government?s financial support, the former PHC Zebras coach was upset over the decision to rename the festive tournament the Premier?s Dudley Eve Cup competition.

?I just don?t see the point in it being called the Premier?s Dudley Eve Cup. What?s wrong with the Dudley Eve Cup? The cup is supposed to be in honour of my father. So how does the Premier get to be honoured if the tournament recognises Dudley Eve,? Eve argued yesterday.

?I don?t understand why the word Premier has to be there. I?m sure that Government has sponsored a lot of sporting events over the years, but I?ve never heard of the Premier?s Masters Golf Tournament or the Premier?s Gold Cup Sailing . . . . or whatever.

?Are they going to call the Martonmere Cup the Premier?s Martonmere Cup? What?s the point? Just because the Government have decided to sponsor the tournament it couldn?t continue to be played under the name of Dudley Eve?

?I just don?t see what bearing the Premier?s name has on the cup and maybe the Premier (Ewart Brown) or Randy (Sports Minister Randy Horton) can explain it to me.?

Eve is also disturbed over the fact that his family were kept completely in the dark over new developments to the Dudley Eve tournament.

?As a family we have never been consulted on anything. We don?t even get invited to the competition,? he claimed.

?It?s as though these things are done in my father?s honour, but without any consultation with my family. We?ve never been asked as a family what do we think about things. Are we entitled to have a say??

In late 2003, Bermuda Football Association announced that it had altered the original Dudley Eve Trophy competition to include overseas national teams in a one-off match for the title against a local select.

Eve described the association?s decision then to alter the competition as a ?kick in the teeth?.

?The FA never even bothered to consult with us when they first made changes to the tournament,? he added. ?I?m the eldest son and it?s not as though they (BFA) don?t know me.

?But I?m grateful for the fact that Government have decided to invest in the tournament. I have no problem with that because it?s nice to know that the clubs are going to benefit financially once again. That was the whole idea behind the establishing of the trophy in my father?s honour in the first place.

?But what concerns me most is what bearing the Premier?s name has on the competition. When the competition was first inaugurated it was done so in my father?s honour and specifically set up so the first four teams in the First Division (Premier) at the Christmas break could play for this trophy and derive the benefits financially.

?If you can recall we always used to have foreign tours coming here at Christmas. And when they stopped bringing in the tours the Dudley Eve was formed to keep football alive at Christmas which proved to be very popular and successful for the participating clubs.

?As you know the tournament has undergone different changes over the years and last year it reverted back to the Dudley Eve with the sponsorship of CCS Group.

?But all of these things were done without any consultation with my family and it appears now as though things are still that way. It?s like my family doesn?t have any say in what happens and I would have thought that out of courtesy somebody would have checked with us to see how we felt about things.

?And while I?m grateful Government has pumped up the prize money . . . I just wonder what bearing the Premier?s name is going to have on the competition, and why is it necessary in the first place.?