Bermuda soccer has fallen behind countries such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Honduras and out of the elite of the CONCACAF region. And immediate steps are now needed to improve the standard.

So says Bermuda Football Association staff coach Kenny Thompson, who recently led the Island's Under-17 team to within a whisker of qualifying for the penultimate round of the Youth World Cup.

Thompson believes several issues need to be addressed regarding system structure, with administration, coaching and education all having to be woven into a single unit if Bermuda's full potential is to be reached.

And the coach pointed to the Dutch set-up as a prime and proven example of a relatively small nation maximising limited resources.

"Our level here is very low, that's the reality of the situation and we're trying to improve the level,'' said Thompson in a recent interview. "To reach the level of the Netherlands is unrealistic. We are very far behind and, to use the example of the Under-17s which captivated the imagination of our country, the fact remains that we were behind Jamaica.

"Still we made small steps for what can be achieved in the future, and when I talk about the future, I'm talking about 15 or 20 years if we do it right now.

"From a size perspective I feel we are similar to the Netherlands, in that, compared to the other football giants, they are very small. They recognise as much, therefore they've deliberately set up a structure in coaching education, and education in management and so on, so that they can make the highest possible impact using the limited resources that they have.

"They have enjoyed great success because of their ability to take limited resources and train them at the highest level possible.'' With a population of some 60,000, Thompson emphasised the difficulty in finding a group of 20 talented players to make up a squad, as opposed to places such as Brazil and the United States, which possess pools of thousands and even millions.

Hence in Bermuda, he explains, there is an inherent need for a system that offers proper instruction from the grassroots level upwards.

"As an example, with the Under-17 squad I probably had not more than 100 to choose from, and you're only going to find so many real talents out of 100 players,'' he said. "You have to take the best you can find from the small number and train them to the optimal level possible.

"What we must try to do is to make best use of our young boys' passion for football and educate them at the highest level possible, where they can see an improvement in their football, and they can compete evenly against other good players from around the world.

"Also, through that passion at the same time make demands on academics and social behaviour, so at the end of the day you are not developing footballers, but human beings.

"I say to our young boys all the time that everybody wants to be a professional and they shouldn't let that dream die. But the reality of it is that less than one percent of all the footballers throughout the world end up playing professional.

"So if you are not one of the .5 of a percent then what are you going to do?'' "We need to, through their passion, give them a means to become better people in our society and to live productive lives. To me that is the more realistic goal than demanding that we qualify for a World Cup.''