Bermuda's soccer chiefs have scored a victory in the dispute over the staging of a prestigious youth tournament -- gaining entry to the next round without even kicking a ball.

Bermuda Football Association had been at odds with the Caribbean Football Union over a decision to move the qualifying round of the Under-17 World Cup tournament forward a week.

The four-team group stage should have been held in the Cayman Islands last week and featured the hosts, Bermuda, Cuba and the US Virgin Islands. Just three days before the Island's players were due to fly out, the BFA were informed that the Cayman FA were unable to stage the event and that the US Virgin Islands had pulled out.

Matters became even more confused when the Caymans then said they were moving the tournament to this week and that the Virgin Islands would indeed be there.

The BFA protested because of the last-minute alterations which would have set them back at least $8,000 in changes to airline tickets and an overnight stay in New York and also resulted in the players taking an unscheduled break from school.

BFA General Secretary David Sabir made representations to both the CFU and regional governing body, CONCACAF, over the decision and threatened to bring in world soccer's governing body FIFA if Bermuda were unable to compete through no fault of their own.

A meeting was held over weekend to discuss the matter, with the CFU announcing yesterday that not only would Bermuda still be involved, but they had been given a bye into the next round.

The group stage is set to go ahead without the Island team but they are now guaranteed a spot in the first round proper at the end of January.

A venue for that stage is yet to be determined, but the BFA have offered to hold it here. Sabir said he was "relieved and pleased'' with the decision, which he said kept alive hopes of the Under-17 team reaching the finals of the tournament in Trinidad and Tobago in 2001.

"There was only one of two ways we could have gone,'' he said, justifying his decision to protest. "Either accept the decision and travel at our inconvenience, which we may not have even been able to do comfortably, or state our case and hope for a resolution, which we got.'' Sabir said he believed giving Bermuda a bye was "the only reasonable'' option to make, given that postponing the tournament might have led to unnecessary headaches for the other competing nations.

"What the format will be -- whether they play each other and the winner goes through or two teams go through to make up a group in the next round, I'm not sure,'' Sabir said.

That next stage is scheduled to feature two groups of three teams, with the winners going through to the final CONCACAF competition which will feature the likes of Mexico, the USA and Canada.

"We are asking for consideration to stage the next round,'' said Sabir, adding, "We staged the Copa Carib qualifying stage in 1998 -- so we have done it at senior level. I can't recall in my time staging any major youth qualifying matches in Bermuda so I think it would be good to do it on that level.'' CFU General Secretary, Harold Taylor was unavailable for comment.