The dream of professional football coming to Bermuda?s shores is only a stamp of approval away.

While United Soccer League (USL) officials have given a local organisation ? comprised of former English pro strikers Shaun Goater and Kyle Lightbourne and assistant national team coach Paul Scope ? the thumbs up to to join their Second Division ranks, final approval will have to come from the Bermuda Football Association (BFA).

?Having regard to the fact that the players who will be on this team are likely to come from the local clubs, this is a matter that we would have to discuss with the affiliates when we have our AGM (September 28) on matters that affect the players from our clubs,? BFA president Larry Mussenden told .

?It?s always appropriate that the BFA executive discuss it and then allow the affiliates to have their input into the issue. And whatever the requirements are for this organisation I am duty-bound to put those matters before our executive and affiliates.

?I haven?t heard about the announcement in detail and so obviously there?s not too much I comment about it. However, the mandate of the BFA is to promote the playing of football and so in that regard we always look forward to competitive, high-level structured football.

?So I look forward first to finding out any details about the matter and then also being able to pass these details over to the executive and/or affiliates in relation to our players that play football under the BFA.?

USL vice president Tim Holt confirmed earlier this week that a bid submitted by the local group had been approved.

?A formal announcement will be made within the next day or two that a bid from an organisation in Bermuda was approved by USL league officials,? Holt stated in a written Press release.

However, any formal announcement will now have to wait at least another two weeks until BFA executives have discussed the matter with their members at the association?s Annual General Meeting.

Still, Goater remains upbeat the initiative will ultimately receive the BFA?s blessings.

?It?s a great feeling knowing that our application has been accepted and how great it will be for Bermuda football. But we?ve just received the initial news and all of this is still pending on the BFA?s letter of approval,? the former Manchester City star striker said.

?We are still awaiting the BFA?s blessing and we still have to sit down with them to ensure they are okay with things. They are aware of the whole application that was submitted, however, now that it has been accepted we could run into difficulties. And there?s a lot of administrative work that needs to take place.?

Should the BFA give the initiative the green light, a fully-contracted local team will begin competing among the USL Second Division ranks as early as next April.

Goater said his group will initially look to the national squad for players to fill their ranks.

?They are certainly the better players. And so we will choose initially the squad and then have trial dates for additional players who are not in the squad before we cut our numbers down somewhere in the region of 20 and work with them,? he explained.

Goater hopes to secure the National Sports Centre as the team?s home facility.

?That?s one of the options and we have already had a brief meeting with the trustees of the National Sports Centre, and we would like to hope that that could come to fruition,? he added.

Goater remains adamant that this new concept will only serve to enhance local football in the long term.

?I think this doesn?t only help the football player. . . . it also helps the entire country,? he continued. ?And a good number of our players will have the advantage of being able to play for the team.

?We will have a core of players who will be full time and contracted just for the season ? and that will be their job. But again there?s just so much details that we need to sit down and sort out.?

The former pro footballer insisted his initiative will not clash with David Bascome?s Island Soccer League that will commence early next summer.

?We don?t see any conflicts because the USL are looking to accommodate our fixtures to suit us,? Goater explained. ?Logistically, the plan is to play perhaps two games on a journey to help cut costs.?

And as for long-term ambitions, Goater added: ?We certainly have goals to move forward and progress. I think this is an awesome thing for Bermuda, and I?m just so glad they (USL) have looked at the whole prospect of it being in Bermuda.?