Junior football appears to be declining in popularity as it faces increased competition from other sports.

With several activities now scheduled for youngsters on Saturday mornings, organisers of the Shell Youth League have seen a marked drop in the number of players turning out.

Just a few seasons ago, the junior league was flourishing with some clubs fielding as many as three teams in a single age division. But this season, most clubs have managed to put out just one side, and some not any at all.

Shell Youth League coordinator Johnny Nusum said he believed there was still an abundance of talent in the junior divisions, but admitted that numbers were down.

“Although the junior league members are sporadic, most of the bigger clubs are represented such as North Village, PHC and Somerset,” said Nusum. “Most of the remaining clubs perhaps have one team in the entire youth league.

“The reason for that, I couldn't comment on because obviously I don't know what is happening at the club level.

“Whether it is administrative or not preparing early enough, I couldn't say. I do know that a couple of teams dropped out of the league because they didn't have sufficient players when it was time to play.”

Asked whether the junior programme needed more assistance from others involved in the game, Nusum said: “If the programme is to improve, then that improvement will have to come from both sides - the clubs and the administration.

“We have been trying to get to the clubs so that we can collaborate, because without them we wouldn't be able to accomplish anything.”

Former Young Men's Social Club striker John Roach and Dandy Town coach Andrew Bascome both believe that a flourishing junior programme is essential if soccer as a whole is to improve.

“It's unbelievable that some of the bigger clubs have demonstrated a lack in foresight and vision for the development of the local game,” said Roach, noting that only a few clubs continued to provide a well-structured programme.

“North Village, who don't even have a clubhouse, have one the better programmes along with, I believe, Boulevard.

“It's sad that we are losing a considerable amount of our young men to the streets when they could be active on the pitch.

“We need to keep the youngsters interested in a positive environment.”

Roach said he believed clubs should extend their services beyond the bar and become more community oriented.

“Clubs need to put more emphasis on the youngsters and not just on the bar receipts,” he said.

“An environment could be structured for the youngsters to congregate and partake in various other positive pastimes.”

Bascome, himself a product of the North Village junior programme, also believes not enough is being done to encourage juniors to play the game.

“Although youngsters face many obstacles in today's society, I feel the challenge falls to the marketing skills of the clubs - you just can't expect the kids to just want to play anymore,” he said.

“You may get a few kids who possess a great passion for the game, but in this society you are going to need a great desire to play football. Football is not the only thing around anymore. Bermuda is growing, modern technology is taking over and I believe it is just one of the challenges we have to deal with.

“We will just have to make the game more attractive, and that's our struggle.

“Everybody has a part to play. We as coaches have to upgrade ourselves as far coaching is concerned to make training more enjoyable and easier to grasp.

“From an administrative prospective, as far as the marketing of the game is concerned, the clubs need to rise to meet that challenge of just why is it that our kids stop playing football after they reach the age of 16.”