Bermuda's chances of making the final stages of a prestigious youth soccer competition have been boosted with the news the Island is to host the next qualifying round.

The Island's Football Association has been given the go-ahead to stage the next round of the Under-17 World Cup Qualifying Tournament which takes place next month.

Bermuda's teenagers will face Jamaica, Barbados and the Netherlands Antilles between February 12 and 16 for the right to travel to the US for the final qualifying stage in April.

There the winners will be up against the might of the USA, Canada and representatives from Central America.

The finals of the competition will be held in Trinidad and Tobago at a later date.

Under-17 coach Kenny Thompson said last night: "I think it's a good thing for us. Home field advantage, home support and in February it's a little cool in Bermuda as opposed to very hot in the Caribbean, so I think that's to our advantage.

"Also the fact that we will not have to travel -- we won't have to disrupt the boys' everyday schedules too much.'' Thompson also felt the pitch in Bermuda would help his players.

"The surface is one of the best, if not the best, that I've seen in the Caribbean area. We have played on a surface in the Cayman Islands that was OK and then we played in the US Virgin Islands and it was absolutely terrible,'' he said.

"This is a bit of an advantage to us as well because we know exactly what we are getting as opposed to travelling into the unknown somewhat.'' Although the match schedule has yet to be confirmed, it is expected Bermuda will face Barbados on February 12, Netherlands Antilles on February 14 and Jamaica on February 16.

"I've said very often that when it comes to youth football that it is very, very difficult to gauge exactly what our opponents are going to be like,'' Thompson said.

"Barbados may not be doing many things in senior football, but then again they did reach further than we did in the senior World Cup. But that says nothing about what they are doing at youth level. It could be completely the opposite or be much better than they are at senior level.

"Jamaica made the World Cup at senior level and the last Under-17 finals. But this could be a completely different batch of players so they may not be as good or they could be better and therefore we have to respect the opponent in every match and handle ourselves accordingly.'' The team has been in training for several months but has yet to play a match as the previous qualifying round in the Caymans went ahead without them.

Bermuda were given a bye after the date of the competition was changed at the 11th hour.

"We've actually been training since October. Initially that was in preparation for the Cayman Islands in early December and then what would have been Barbados at the end of January,'' Thompson said.

"It's always disappointing when you prepare to play and then you hear it's been postponed, but I have said to our players that these are the things that we have to accept, they are totally out of our control and we have to remain ready and therefore prepare for whenever our time comes.'' Although Thompson said he had set his sights high, he was under no illusion about the scale of the task that lay ahead.

"Being competitors we must play to win, we have to. Entering the World Cup at the qualifying stage we have to play to try and reach the finals,'' he said.

"The reality is that it is going to be very, very tough against opponents like Jamaica, the Netherlands Antilles and possibly even Barbados and then beyond that Mexico, the United States, Costa Rica, Canada and the like.

"We will do our utmost to advance, however, with there being no absolute guarantees in terms of results in sport we have to also look at the long term development opportunity.

"This is a tremendous opportunity because we get to play against Jamaica -- a country that has qualified for the World Cup at senior and youth level -- and that bodes well for our players' development in the future -- under 20, under 23 and hopefully senior national team.'' Feeling at home: Coach Kenny Thompson (right) and his squad prepare for the Under-17 World Cup qualifiers, which, if was announced yesterday, will be held in Bermuda.