A complete shake-up of the domestic football programme and the revision of Bermuda Football Association's (BFA) Strategic Plan have now been given top priority as the association attempt to restore the local game to its former prestige, BFA Technical Committee chairman Robert Calderon has revealed.

With the technical aspect of the game described as stagnant over the past decade or so, Calderon said it had been recognised the importance and need for a new holistic approach and he said he was determined to see that the association's various objectives are met moving forward.

"We are absolutely looking at the redevelopment of the domestic programme in Bermuda and we have to start with our youth programmes. We can't just look at things from the national level," Calderon told The Royal Gazette.

"Ideally, what you want to be able to create over the next couple of months is a new Strategic Plan for our vision for Bermuda football and once that has been completed we will then be speaking to the relevant day-to-day workers and the technical director (Derek Broadley) who will have to formulate a plan that fits comfortably inside this overall vision."

Central to the BFA's future plans is the significant role Broadley will play in arming local coaches with valuable knowledge – an investment Calderon firmly believes will pay handsome dividends in years to come.

"I think we benefit from the fact we now have a technical director who will have to play a significant role in educating coaches right across the Island as to redefine how we go about developing our young players and looking at the overall structure of the domestic programme to make sure we are developing talent that bubbles right along up to the top," he added.

"It's a massive job and a long-term job, but we have to look at it from that point of view."

Long considered the nuts and bolts of the BFA, Calderon and his fellow Technical Committee members have now been given the enormous task of leading the association's charge to revamp the football landscape.

"The Technical Committe is the arm of the executive that speaks to the development, or the redevelopment, of football in Bermuda both at the domestic and international levels," Calderon explained. "The ideas that we have from many points of view have also been discussed with a number of people outside the inner sanctum of the BFA, meaning that we have had continued discussions with coaches and administrators from all the clubs whenever we go about the business of formulating and putting together a new Stragetic Plan which the technical committee play a part of.

"We establish the vision at the executive level with the inclusion and ideas coming from a wide variety of stakeholders before rolling the plan out using a variety of entities within the association, one of which is the technical director."

Among other objectives, Calderon also wants to see the number of Bermudian footballers being recruited by colleges abroad increased to the level which previously existed and to ensure this vision comes to fruition, the BFA's Youth, Education and Technical Committees will work hand-in-hand together moving forward.

"The Youth Committee, Education Committee and the Technical Committee must work very closely together because again one of the biggest emphasis in terms of this new executive is to ensure that when we start helping people set goals we must help them set realistic ones," he said.

"And the most realistic thing we can achieve through domestic football is not producing the next Clyde Best, but hopefully producing the next child that can get a football scholarship in the United States."

In terms of the composition of the BFA's new Technical Committee, Calderon has surrounded himself with those who already possess a proven track record and invaluable experience and knowledge of the game.

The association's Technical Committee now consists of former West Ham striker Best, Hall of Fame footballer Carlton (Pepe) Dill, former national coach Gary Darrell, BFA Honorary Vice-President Leroy (Nibs) Lewis, ex-PHC coach Alfie Eve and elected members Mark Trott and Lee Holder.

"When you look at the composition of the new Technical Committee you will see that it is heavily laden with people who have significant coaching experience and also knowledge of local and international football in the region we operate in," Calderon said. "I think there has been a massive void in local football as a result of the absences of people like Pepe (Dill), Nibs (Lewis) and Alfie (Eve) as well.

"I have a first hand understanding of their contributions to the game in Bermuda and you can certainly see the drop-off in terms of team organisation and team production on the field when they exited the game. I think we have a good group of young coaches now and there's no question about it. But for a long period of time there was a void which had a massive impact on the overall structure and ability that was displayed on the field in Bermuda."

Asked whether he thought some of his fellow committee members had passed their administrative prime, Calderon replied: "I think sometimes you have to look back at the things we have done extremely well in the past to ensure that when you move forward you are not moving away from objectives or ideas that have worked before.

"There's nothing like experience and you only need look at what's happening right now with English football moving to a head coach like Fabio Capello. He's not the technical director but for sure he's had a massive impact on the English game and he's got to be close to 60 years old.

"Arguably the most dominant coaches in English football are Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson who are both 60 and getting closer to 70 and so experience counts for a lot if the ideas are still there. And I think the guys (fellow Technical Committee members) are more than enthused; they are extremely energised by the fact they have been brought back into the fold. And I have a deeply rooted respect for these gentlemen."

* Bermuda Football Association (BFA) announced yesterday that this month's Martonmere Cup and Women's FM Cup semi-finals have been rescheduled.

The October 21 Women's FM Cup semi-final between Lady Cougars and Dandy Stars and Martonmere semi-final between Dandy Town and Devonshire Cougars will now be played at BAA Field.

A week later at Devonshire Rec., North Village Lady Rams will take on Prospect in the remaining Women's FM Cup semi-final while PHC and North Village will do battle for the right to meet either Hornets or Cougars in the November 11 Martonmere Cup final.