A row is brewing over the state of youth soccer on the Island with Bermuda Football Association and several clubs currently at a stand-off . . . and two of the youth divisions caught in the crossfire.

The Royal Gazette has learned that a dispute, stemming from sweeping amendments made to the overall youth league structure, has resulted in a delayed start to the 2003-04 season.

Earlier this year the BFA ordered all clubs to provide at least one member to undergo a refereeing course and be responsible for officiating youth matches throughout the season. Any clubs failing to comply, said the BFA, would automatically be struck off the BFA youth register.

But response to the that directive is said to have been “poor” with only two clubs in both the Under-13 and Under-17 leagues meeting the new requirement.

The season was originally slated to get underway last weekend, but while Under-17 action kicked off the Under-13 and Under-15 divisions remained dormant, both suffering from a severe shortage of teams.

In an effort to resolve the dispute, the BFA say they are prepared to conduct another refereeing course for all potential youth officials this Saturday in the former Ministry of Youth and Sport boardroom on Court Street.

However, some feel that that might not be enough to get the youth league back on track.

“For such drastic changes from what has been the norm, time is needed for all clubs to prepare and adjust,” argued Western Stars youth coach Troy Lewis. “Most clubs have only volunteers to manage and direct them.”

Change, insisted Lewis, would require more time.

“You cannot expect to make decisions for the upcoming season in the middle of August and expect every club to be able to fulfil these demands by October. This is a thin line we are walking, that could either make or break a club. Asking too much of someone in a short span of time could cause them to withdraw their services altogether,” he added.

However, according to BFA youth official Gregory Grimes, clubs had ample time to meet the new requirements.

“This matter of teams producing a referee was put to the clubs at a semi-annual meeting in January this year,” he stated. “They were again informed of it at a special council meeting around April. It was then distributed in June and followed up with meetings with coaches in July and August.”

Grimes added: “It is not the intention of the youth committee to penalise clubs or prevent youngsters from playing. Our intention is to bring a more professional approach to registering youth teams and having certified people coaching these teams.

“The problem with youth registration and shortage of referees is nothing new. This problem has existed for years and if nothing is done to correct it now we would be in the same boat ten years from now.”

Lewis, however, insisted more time was required to adapt to the changes.

“I for one agree with most of the changes,” he said. “But we need more time to comply. Maybe we can work to increase the percentage of compliance over the course of the season instead of sending out these negative messages.”

Lewis suggested the BFA should provide more information on how clubs could best meet the new requirement.

“The league would be better if all clubs were able to compete,” he added. “The sport will only move forward with all clubs progressing. We need each other to advance.”

Grimes said the reason for the changes was two-fold.

“It will give us a bigger pool of trained people to officiate our youth matches, which in turn would cut down on the discipline problems we encountered last season,” he explained.

“Also, with a trained pool of individuals the clubs would be able to call on a trained club member on a Sunday when there is a shortage of an assistant referee at a Premier or First Division match to assist.

“But it must be remembered that the final structure for youth football for this season had input from all club coaches. The youth committee after both meetings amended the structure in accordance with the affiliates' wishes.

“Therefore, the committee still feels very strongly that teams provide someone for training as a referee. We are just trying to avoid such a situation within the youth leagues.”

BFA general secretary David Sabir said he was very “disturbed” about the matter.

“I would like to express disappointment that the season had to be delayed as a direct result of clubs failing to comply with the registration process,” he said, in a written statement forwarded to clubs.

“I would further encourage them to have a representative at the next referee training session.”

Meanwhile, the Under-17 youth league got underway on Sunday, but not without incident.

At Southampton Oval, PHC forfeited the points to North Village after Zebras coach Jack Castle refused to allow his players to take to the field.

The outspoken coach, no stranger to controversy, made the decision after two of his players strolled through the grounds late.

However, those gathered around the Oval, including BFA youth director Kenny Thompson, were left astonished by Castle's decision, largely due to the fact that PHC still had sufficient players to get the match underway.

Castle couldn't be reached for comment yesterday, while Thompson, upon leaving the ground, said the matter would be investigated.