Football clubs around the Island escaped relatively unscathed from Hurricane Igor.

Notorious for their inability to withstand heavy rain and high winds, clubs such as Devonshire Rec and BAA were at particular risk of flooding, something that could have put this weekend's first fixtures of the season in serious jeopardy.

The Corona League is due to begin on Friday night at BAA Field, with a full round of matches due to be played on Saturday, while the Bermuda Football Association's traditional season opener, the Charity Cup, is also scheduled to take place on Friday at Devonshire Rec.

With the first two matches of this season's Dudley Eve competition then slated to take place at BAA Field on Sunday afternoon, club officials had feared the hurricane would have put all of those matches in danger of being postponed.

BAA president John Doran, however, made it clear yesterday that his venue would be ready for the opening weekend.

"It wasn't as bad as we thought it would be, we dodged a bullet," said Doran.

"Everything looks ok, obviously there is water and flooding in the parking lot but for the most part it looks ok. I had one of the guys go and have a look at it and he said it looks fine, very good news."

For Doran, whose club are still paying for their new synthetic pitch, any serious damage could have cost them dearly.

"The weekend is still going to happen, the field isn't in bad condition, the lights are still standing so it's not as bad as we feared," he said. "I am happy, the relief is setting in now, we just got the pitch and having the loan payments due, it is essential we generate the funds away from what the club makes in other areas."

Devonshire Rec is known for its lack of drainage which causes large parts of the pitch to become waterlogged. However, they too escaped any major damage, as did most other clubs, including Dandy Town, Southampton Rangers and Somerset Cricket Club.

The 2010 BFA season will kick off on Friday at Devonshire Rec. when FA Cup champions Devonshire Cougars tackle Premier Division champions Dandy Town. The match is due to kick off at 8 p.m.

Dudley Eve matches between North Village and Somerset Eagles, and PHC and Boulevard, which were due to take place on Friday night at Devonshire Rec have been switched to BAA Field on Sunday. Those games will now start at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

The Corona League begins on Friday night at BAA Field with a double header, with four games on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m.