Bermuda?s dream of hosting the Digicel Cup?s second qualifying phase has been shattered, with football bosses revealing yesterday that the national side will have to play in Barbados instead.

And Bermuda Football Association are also seeking an explanation from the the Carribbean Football Union as to why they decided to alter the format of the competition at the last minute ? a change which has seen Bermuda drawn in an entirely different group from the one that was originally anticipated.

Kyle Lightbourne?s men have been placed in a group with Barbados, St. Vincent and the Bahamas, with the matches scheduled to be played between November 19 and 23 in Bridgetown.

Under the old format ? which BFA president Larry Mussenden only discovered was to be changed last Friday ? by finishing top of Group B ahead of the Dominican Republic, Bermuda were supposed to go into a second-round group with the winners and runners-up of Group H, in this case Haiti and St. Vincent.

But for reasons which have not yet been explained to the BFA, that structure has been scrapped ? though Mussenden insisted yesterday that Bermuda may have actually benefited from avoiding a team like Haiti, traditionally one of the strongest teams in the Caribbean.

While admitting he was disappointed to have had Bermuda?s bid to be a host venue rejected, the football chief was quick to focus on the positives and skated around the suggestion that Bermuda has once again been the victim of Caribbean bias.

He also offered some strong words about the team?s prospects of success, suggesting the public would accept nothing less than a top-place finish.

?We made the CFU aware of our desire to host the second stage, and they have made their decision after considering bids from other countries which they believe to be in the best interests of football,? he said.

?So now we look forward to the second stage and qualifying for the finals in Trinidad as winners of the group. Looking at the teams we?ve been drawn against, I see no reason why this is not possible and it will be up to the coaching staff and the players to ensure that this happens.

?The people of Bermuda expect this from the coaches, from the players and from the BFA so it is up to all of us to deliver. We?re going down to Barbados to top the group.

?As for the changes to the draw, I only became aware that there might be a change late last week. We submitted a letter to the CFU asking for clarification and as of yet, have not received a reply.

?But we await the reply with interest because we would like to understand why they thought the changes were necessary. As it has turned out, though, I think we might be better off and certainly the coaches are perfectly happy with the draw they have been presented with.?

Hosts Barbados topped their group in the first qualifying stage, winning games against Antigua 3-1 and Anguilla 7-1 before drawing 1-1 with St. Kitts.

St. Vincent, meanwhile, caused the shock of the tournament so far when they beat defending champions Jamaica 2-1 and finished second in their group behind Haiti while the Bahamas placed second in their group behind Cuba but ahead of minnows the Turks and Caicos and Cayman.

The top two from each group go through to the eight-team finals in Trinidad this January, while the three third-placed teams will battle for the remaining two spots in December play-offs.