approached the Bermuda Football Association about having more time to recruit players for the 1999-2000 campaign, the Royal Gazette understands.

Officials from Vasco would not comment on the matter while BFA general secretary David Sabir did not return phone calls yesterday.

Vasco lost a host of first team players during the transfer period which ended the day before Cup Match as Kentoine Jennings, Ottis Steede, Tafari Outerbridge, Ascento Russell, Sinclair Gibbons, Diallo Sharrieff, Earl Richardson, Burton Bruce, Dwight Basden and Voorhees Astwood all obtained releases.

Most of those players have joined new clubs, though Gibbons has apparantly changed his mind again about rejoining St. George's while Basden did not follow through with a transfer.

Jennings went back to North Village, taking former Boulevard player, Outerbridge with him, while Lightbourne and Steede are going home to PHC.

Russell will be back in Southampton Rangers colours this season while Bruce, Richardson and Astwood are going back to Dandy Town, their original club.

Former Hotels goalkeeper Stefan Dupres has moved on to Dandy Town, obviously realising there are few opportunities at Vasco with Timmy Figureido the number one 'keeper.

The only player moving to Vasco before the initial transfer deadline was North Village's Jamel Smith, which is of some concern to Vasco as any player they sign up in the late transfer period will not be eligible to play until November 15. The late release period is now in effect until August 31.

Vasco, last year's league champions, are apparently requesting an exemption to the late transfer period, so that any players they sign now will be eligible to start the new season with them rather than miss the first few weeks of the season. Those players remaining with Vasco include Meshach Wade, Clifford Roberts, Dennis Robinson, Derek Stapley, Wayne Augustus and Clay Smith who will miss most of the season because he is in school abroad.

The season will start on September 5 with Vasco taking on FA Cup champions, Devonshire Colts, in the Charity Cup. Vasco are also one of the teams involved in the early-season Martonmere Cup which kicks off on September 11.

Sources suggest Vasco have about eight players interested in joining the team -- Boulevard brothers Albert, Clinton and Taur Caisey, Chris Anderson from Dandy Town and Hamilton Parish trio Kuma Smith, Jermaine Belboda and Keenan Burchall, who are all keen to stay in the First Division.

Last August Hotels dropped out of the league as a First Division team after failing to sign sufficient players for the 1998-99 season. Twelve players from what was already a small squad applied for transfer releases, some joining Vasco last season and helping them to their third league title in four years.

The deadline for youth players seeking transfers is September 10.