Mark Trott is emerging as favourite to win the election for the top job in Bermuda Football Association and oust current president Neville Tyrrell.

Sources have confirmed that "an overwhelming majority'' of the BFA's 22 affiliates pledged their backing for the challenger at a meeting at Devonshire Recreation Club last week and if that support is reflected in the AGM of soccer's governing body on July 24, Trott will become the new president.

Trott said yesterday that two other potential figureheads for the movement for change had been put forward during a series of meetings of club representatives over the past few weeks and he felt honoured to have emerged as the affiliates' choice to challenge for the leadership.

And he believed he could do a good job for football as BFA president. "We held a meeting at Devonshire Rec. last week, attended by 65 to 70 percent of affiliates,'' said Trott. "Absent clubs sent in their opinions by proxy. An overwhelming majority made it clear that they were prepared to give their support to me.

"I feel confident I will get their support on the 24th, based on the commitments they have given.

"I wanted to speak to the affiliates to find out their concerns and how they could be addressed and also to find out whether they would want me to run for president. I also want to stress that I am running because I feel I could do a good job as president.'' Meetings had been held to test the desire for a change among affiliates at Somerset Cricket Club, Hamilton Parish and Devonshire Rec.

"At those three meetings, I made it clear that I was prepared to run -- but only if that's what the affiliates wanted,'' said Trott. "I was not going to exercise the right to run for the sake of running.'' Trott said he felt no antipathy towards Tyrrell and he was motivated by the desire to improve soccer in Bermuda and to encourage affiliates and the executive to work more closely together in the running of the association.

"This run for the presidency is not about myself or people's satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the current administration,'' said Trott. "If that was the case, it would be a wasted exercise.

"The premise for me standing is that I want to work towards the overall improvement of football. I feel particularly concerned that the domestic product is sliding downhill -- we are not making any progress -- and that is also the opinion of many people who have played and coached in Bermuda for a long time.

"If you look at the constitution of the BFA, the affiliates should play a very important role and I would like to see a concerted effort between the executive and the affiliates to take football forward.'' The administrational side of running the Island's biggest sporting body should hold few fears for Trott. His job as deputy manager in the business analysis department of the Bank of Butterfield involves drawing up new procedures to improve the running of organisations -- a skill which could prove useful if he is elected BFA boss.

Trott's main involvement in soccer since the end of his playing days with Devonshire Colts has been in coaching, although he has also served on BFA committees.

His most notable international coaching achievement was earning qualification for Bermuda for the 1995 Pan-Am Games and in club football, when he led Dandy Town to the league title, Friendship Trophy and the Dudley Eve in 1993-94 and was named Coach of the Year.

Trott also served as chairman of the BFA Coaching Committee and as deputy chairman of the International Football Committee, under Alan Peacock.

If elected BFA president, Trott said he would relinquish his coaching posts as assistant coach of the national team and head coach of the under-23s. And whether or not he is voted in, he intends to stand down as Dandy Town coach.

"This year, I intend to take a break from coaching,'' said Trott. "I was thinking of doing that last season, but no-one else was available.'' Mark Trott: confident he will receive the support of affiliates at this month's BFA AGM.

Neville Tyrrell: Faces a battle in his bid to remain president.