the first round of the World Cup, a decision has been made by the Bermuda Football Association (BFA) to decline an invitation to enter the prestigious competition.

The disclosure is bound to be a letdown for the senior players and the coaching staff that steered Bermuda to glory in 1992, but the writing has clearly been on the wall.

General Secretary of the BFA David Sabir broke the news yesterday during an interview, confirming what The Royal Gazette reported two weeks ago.

The decision seems to be the only alternative as a result of many problems the BFA have encountered in the aftermath of the Miami Seven scandal.

"The executive committee have unanimously decided that we will not be participating in the 1998 World Cup qualifying round,'' said Sabir. "In the final analysis it boiled down to us taking a look at our internal situation and factor in that we have a lot of work to do in Bermuda.

"We also realise that once we get Bermuda straight then we will be in a better position to represent Bermuda and consequently be able to join the international arena of soccer.'' Sabir insisted that the reasons for withdrawing were not confined strictly to a lack of finances, which has become apparent due to the obvious lack of support from the business sector largely because of the BFA's poor handling of the Miami incident.

The drug scandal -- which has plagued the sport -- wasn't cited as a factor, but it certainly played a background role in the decision.

Included in the other factors singled out by Sabir was the "attitude of the present day players, their social, moral and academic position'' -- all of which was rigorously examined by the Sharpe report.

"We must focus on other things in the immediate term, build back up this pride, build back a commitment and responsibility and see if we can go systematically forward and properly prepare and not force the World Cup onto anybody,'' he said.

Other troubling factors he said were things such as player availability and finding decent facilities for the national team to train since most pitches are about to be used for domestic play. Then there was the issue of finding funds to pay players.

The draw for the preliminary round takes place on December 15, with the first matches scheduled as early as next March. The timing alone would have made it difficult for Bermuda to compete.

The fact that the Bermuda senior team hasn't even been assembled since their World Cup run ended in 1993 was another factor that hastened the decision.

Getting a squad together at this late date will be "catastrophic'' declared Sabir.

"We will be advising FIFA of our decision before the deadline, our case was ratified by the affiliates at the AGM on Monday night and it was difficult for them to accept because everybody believes that we should participate. But we have to be realistic knowing when and how we can do it properly,'' he added.

The decision leaves local soccer in somewhat of a difficult position having gone from its proudest moment to the present difficulties. But Sabir said that the game will rebound strongly and with more vigour and momentum by the year 2002 when they plan to re-apply.

"We are looking at what it takes to run a decent international programme so that we can get the support of the whole community again. It's important to be in a position where we will not ever again enter a competition and then look for funding,'' he noted, in obvious reference to the financial plight the BFA faced going into the last World Cup and the recent Olympic qualifying.

FLASHBACK -- Celebrating one of Bermuda's great moments during the last World Cup campaign are David Bascome, Shawn Goater, Kyle Lightbourne and Gary Darrell.