The axe officially fell on the Dudley Eve Trophy competition yesterday as Bermuda Football Association announced that an Island Select and the Premier Division leaders would compete in a three-match Christmas series against a visiting Jamaican Olympic squad next month.

However, the legacy of the late Bermuda Football League founding member will live on as BFA second vice-president Robert Calderon and general secretary David Sabir assured the local soccer fraternity yesterday that the January 1 match between Jamaica and a Bermuda team would be played in memory of Eve.

A Bermuda select squad will officially kick off the Christmas tour on December 26 against the Jamaicans while the Premier Division side residing at the top of the standings at the mid-season break will square off against the visitors on December 29. All matches will be played at the National Sports Centre.

Jamaican Football Federation press officer Earl Bailey confirmed yesterday that the Jamaican Olympic squad had agreed to take part in the new festive tournament.

But Sabir insisted that the BFA's intent was never to disrespect the late administrator.

“In no certain terms should the decision not to play the Dudley Eve Trophy in its current format be taken as a decision to disrespect the valuable contribution of Mr.Dudley Eve to football,” said Sabir during yesterday's press conference.

“The Dudley Eve Trophy was established in recognition of the significant contribution given to football by Mr.Eve and was also established as a competition that earned revenue for the association as well as the participating clubs.”

He added: “It was a decision regarding the playing of the competition in its present format and it wasn't a demand from the clubs which resulted in the BFA executive committee's overall assessment of the competition.”

Calderon, meanwhile, cited the risks of injuries to players and the physical strain of playing four matches over a short period of time and the disadvantages the competition placed on teams as the primary reason for scrapping the tournament.

But he also stressed that with the holiday tour now in place, local teams would get the opportunity to play against foreign opposition and the tour would also provide senior national coach Gary Darrell with a chance to have a good look at players as the Island gears towards next year's Pan-Am Games.

“Playing against quality opposition like the Jamaicans will provide the perfect benchmark for where we need to go and how fast,” he explained.

“It gives our international programme a period of good uninterrupted time as the league will be taking a break.

“I think that it's safe to say that they will relish the opportunity to test their skills against foreign opposition and at the same time give their coaches a chance to look at new ways of developing their team through this experience.”

Calderon also hoped that from a technical point of view the decision would improve the overall standard of the game in Bermuda which in turn would make the overall football product more attractive to fans.

“In the short term, some Premier Division teams end up playing fewer games but invariably more interest in the game will develop and more people will want to come out and watch football,” he added.