Shaun Goater's professional career may be over, but Bermuda's is just about to begin.
The Goat, who hung up his boots in May, is set to revive his dream partnership with friend and former strike partner Kyle Lightbourne — at the helm of Bermuda's first ever pro team.
An application is going in this week to the United Soccer Leagues in America, with Bermuda likely to compete in its second division next season.
And Goater, who would be franchise manager in the new set-up, said he hoped the team would help develop players of the future who could go on to enjoy even more success than he had.
Tim Holt, vice-president of USL, confirmed yesterday that it was in 'advanced discussions' with groups from the island and predicted Bermuda would have a team in the league, 'sooner rather than later'.
There are currently nine teams in USL Division One and organizers want to add two more to make it a 20-game season.
Holt said: "The big stuff is out of the way. We are okay with the concept — it is just a matter of the details.
"We have a model in our first division with Puerto Rico; we have Canadian teams and we have U.S. teams in our leagues and we don't see why this could not be extended to island nations like Bermuda." The Bermuda Sun first revealed in May that football bosses were looking into the possibility of establishing a pro-team.
And Paul Scope, assistant coach of the national team and a key administrator, said yesterday that the details had now been hammered out, sponsors were coming on board and the dream was slowly turning into a reality.
"We have got our application ready and it is going in this week.
"We have had good discussions with the league and also with sponsors. Everybody loves the idea. People are very enthusiastic about it. It would be exciting to have a major pro team representing Bermuda."
He said the team would probably draw on a pool of around 20 players with a core of four or five 'full-time' paid professionals, contracted for the duration of the season. The others would either get match-fees or win bonuses, though those details have yet to be finalized.
They would play a 20-game season, including ten home matches. The away games would be played in road-trips of two or three games at a time, with the team relying on goodwill of employers and sponsorship to ensure availability.
It would not be a national team, as such, but would be an island based club-side with a name like Bermuda Barracudas or Bermuda Hogs.
Bright future
The current plan is for Lightbourne to coach the side, with Scope as his assistant and Goater taking on the role of 'franchise manager'.
In the aftermath of his hat-trick heroics at his farewell game with Southend on Friday evening, Goater told us: "The future is positive. The future is professional."
He added: "I'm glad to be back and helping to develop things. It (the pro team) is what is needed here.
"I'm really eager and keen to link up with Scopey and Kyle. We have got the talent.
"We matched the professional players of Southend and we will be playing at a lower level than that in the USL."
"It's going to give kids motivation and get them up from sitting on the wall, get a better national team, get more players playing pro over in America and England. Then hopefully we will see players aspire to and achieve greater things than I have."
Reader Comments
Posted: Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Comment by:
onusbrown
am will to hear from you soon
Posted: Monday, July 10, 2006
Comment by:
Robert Wilson
Welcome to the USL! I'm sure that the level of competition will be higher then you expect.
As a longtime fan and match reporter for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (www.riverhounds.com and www.uslfans.com) I want to invite all Bermuda football fans to the local pub after your loss to my beloved Hounds for a beer.
