for the problems plaguing the game this season, according to one of the game's top officials.

But David Sabir, general secretary of the Bermuda Football Association, believes that now all parties are pulling together to drag football out of the doldrums.

Sabir and BFA president Neville Tyrell met with club representatives on Tuesday night and secured agreements to play out the season and to give players a voice in the running of the game.

The meeting came with the season, blighted by violence on the field and a series of cancelled and boycotted fixtures, in crisis.

But if the game had hit rock bottom, Sabir had seen enough positive signs in the meeting at Devonshire Rec. to believe it can bounce back.

"The blame for the problems we have had cannot be put squarely on any one particular entity -- it is collective and collectively we can get away from those problems,'' he said.

The events of recent weeks had exposed rifts between soccer's governing body, the clubs and the players. But Sabir hoped the inclusion of players in the proposed football forum would destroy some misconceptions.

"Including players in the process will help them better understand the realities in the football sector and the financial constraints,'' said Sabir.

"Football and the clubs have been faced with a new set of challenges from those they faced 10 or 20 years ago,'' said Sabir.

"It is easy to ask what has happened to football, but what we should be saying is look at what football has to deal with.''