Bermuda's new pro soccer team will play its first home game at the National Centre in April as the sport enters a new era.
The team will play a 20-game season in the American United Soccer League (USL) Division Two, including ten home matches in front of local crowds, at the Devonshire stadium.
The pay structure has not been confirmed but the Bermuda Sun understands that the top three players will be recruited full time for the duration of the six-month season on $30,000-a-year contracts.
The others can expect to earn up to $10,000-a-year based on appearances and other incentives. Coach Kyle Lightbourne and assistant coach Paul Scope were unavailable to confirm the figures yesterday.
The details of the project - the biggest and most ambitious development in Bermuda's soccer history - were revealed today by United Soccer League officials.
Bermuda will play in USL Division Two, the third tier of American soccer, and will come up against teams like Richmond Kickers and the Harrisburg City Islanders.
Lightbourne will select 26 players over the next six months to fill out his roster.
It is hoped the team will help provide the core of the national squad giving Bermuda a better chance of competing against the region's top international sides. It will also put our players in the shop window for more established pro teams.
The team will not be the Bermuda national side but rather a Bermuda based club side. College players are ineligible and pros like Khano Smith and John Barry Nusum, are unlikely to be involved.
National team stars like keeper Timmy Figureido, Domico Coddington, Stevie Astwood and Ralph Bean jnr are likely to be invited to form the nucleus of the squad.
Former Manchester City hero Shaun Goater will be the general manager on the administration side and Paul Scope, assistant national coach, will fill the same role for the new team.
A name for the team has yet to be decided but it will be a snappy American style moniker with Bermuda Hogs and Bermuda Ace Boys some of the suggestions on the table.
It is understood that the team will be paid for by a mixture of sponsors as well as gate receipts.
The average attendance for USL Division Two games is 2,500.
Bermuda are likely to play several away games consecutively in a series of mini road trips to cut down on travel costs.
The division runs from April until late August culminating in a play-off style finale with the Championship Game, televised on the Fox Soccer Channel, over the Labour Day Weekend. If the team is successful it will be possible for Bermuda to move up to the Division one with games televised weekly on FSC.
Bermuda will have the option to bring in up to five foreign players to represent the team.
Tim Holt, vice president of the USL, said he had been impressed with the combination of Scope's business background - he is also chairman and chief executive officer of the Park Group - and the expertise of Lightbourne and Goater.
"We have a real good sense that this is going to be a competitive team that plays exciting soccer."
He said the next six months would be critical to the success of the team.
"The league does not start till April, but Bermuda is involved from this moment forward. The fans will start to see promotional stuff coming out, they'll see the selection of the team, the schedule being put together.
He added that the involvement of Bermuda was great news for the USL.
"We have franchises from the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada and we are now going to have Bermuda. That's four federations and it cements our position as the top organization in the development of the sport in North America."
The Puerto Rico Islanders were the trailblazers for the Bermuda project. They initially entered USL Divison Two before moving up to the top division where they are currently contesting the finals after their most successful season yet.
"The league is becoming an option for countries, like Puerto Rico and Bermuda, where it is very difficult to get major competition within the confines of the country without it being prohibitively expensive."
He said the USL project need not be a money drain for Bermuda with many clubs in the division breaking even or actually making a profit.
Holt suggested it could be a boon for tourism with teams' fans following them to the island to watch them play football.
Holt added: "It's different and exciting, not just for Bermuda, but for the USL. We're looking forward to having Bermuda as part of the league."
