The Bermuda Hogges have a 50-50 chance of returning to action next summer, Paul Scope, the owner, said yesterday.

Hogges, who were founded in 2006, were forced to pull out of the United States League Premier Development League at the eleventh hour last season after failing to drum up sufficient funding.

Scope insists that he will attempt to re-enter the team only if he can raise the $500,000 required to cover the costs of the operation.

Hogges’ withdrawal brought the shutters down on the team’s six years as a USL franchise, although Scope has always maintained that he was confident that their absence would be temporary.

“If I enter the Hogges again, I would only want to do it right instead of operating on a $350,000 budget, which we operated on during our last few seasons,” said Scope, who formed the team initially with the assistance of Shaun Goater and Kyle Lightbourne.

“[That budget] was very tight and meant we had to cut corners, playing three or four games on each away trip to save money, which did not help our results.

“To do it well, you probably need a $500,000 to $600,000 budget for a Bermuda team, which is three times more than an American PDL team because we have to pay for the clubs to come to Bermuda and we have to pay to travel to the United States.

“If we do come back, I’ve no doubt that it will be 100 per cent better than before. I wouldn’t rule out having to wait until 2016, but I think if we leave it too much longer than that, the trail will have gone a little cold.”

Scope admits that the USL was unhappy about the timing of the Hogges’ withdrawal — only a week before the 2013 season started — but hopes their relationship has not been sufficiently damaged to prevent the side from re-entering the PDL in the near future.

Should they be unable to come to an agreement with the USL, Scope believes that there could be other options for the Hogges in North America.

“It’s a big ask, but I’m hopeful — I’d put it 50-50,” Scope, a former Bermuda assistant coach, said. “There’s no guarantee the USL will take us back, but we left on good terms and I met all their contractual requirements, so there’s no ban on us coming back.

“If I was in the USL’s shoes, I would insist that the Hogges proved they had a healthy budget and sufficient pre-funding, so there would be no doubt that the franchise could fulfil its commitments.

“I’d like to think if we could provide that evidence, the USL would take us back with open arms. They always said that it was a great experience for their teams to come down to Bermuda.

“The USL would be my first choice, but there are other leagues you could look at like the North American Soccer League. There’s obviously no guarantee we would get a franchise from them, either, but if you could prove you had a sustainable programme, I’m sure they would be receptive.”

Having ploughed a substantial amount of his own money into the Hogges over the past six years, Scope felt he could no longer carry on picking up the tab to keep the side afloat.

He is hopeful, however, that he can attract enough sponsorship from corporate Bermuda for next season and is confident that the Hogges will have the continued support of the Bermuda Football Association, which had full control of team affairs from 2010 to 2012. The association provided significant financial support in 2010, but was unable to maintain that level of funding after having its government grant substantially reduced the next year.

“I’ve had a lot of support from the football community and I know that Richard Todd [the BFA Academy technical director] is very supportive of the Hogges,” Scope said.

“People have realised that when the Hogges haven’t been on the field, we have been a miss.

“Other than the NatWest Island Games, which was an easy one to do because it was held here, there hasn’t been much on the senior Bermuda team’s calendar.

“Unfortunately, we have gone back to the days before the Hogges when the senior national team programme was very inactive and very stop-start.

“It would be very easy to do a joint venture with the BFA again, though, because they appreciate that we have always tried to do things the right way. Plus, nothing else has come along to fill the void left by the Hogges.”

While the Hogges have not been able to kick a ball in anger since the end of the 2012 season, Scope has kept the franchise’s name alive by striking up partnerships with overseas teams, such as their relationship with Ilkeston in English non-League football.

Three Bermuda players — Antwan Russell, Lejaun Simmons and Rai Simmons — featured for the Derbyshire-based side’s first team last season and Scope believes that it is essential for the Island’s leading players to continue experiencing a higher level of competition.

“I’m still working with the Hogges squad, it’s just that I’ve been trying to place the players overseas, which has been great at keeping the name going,” he said.

“I’ve had people like Nahki Wells [a former Hogges player], Khano Smith [the New England Revolution youth-team coach], Dennis Brown and Richard Todd recommending players to me and sharing their contacts.

“There’s a whole overseas network that’s come out of the Hogges. We actually used some of funding we got through sponsorship last season and diverted it to helping four players [Drewonde Bascome, Casey Castle and Jaylen Harvey and Tre Ming] get fixed up at the IMG Academy [who play in the PDL].”

Lightbourne led the Hogges during their first three seasons in the now defunct semi-professional USL D2. In 2010, the Hogges dropped down a tier to the amateur under-23 PDL, handing the BFA control of team affairs, with Scott Morton, the former Dandy Town coach, in charge of the side that summer.

Morton was succeeded by Maurice Lowe, now coach of Southampton Rangers, who coached Hogges during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.