BERMUDIANS must come out in large numbers and support the incoming Santos tour or take the risk of being starved from a similar venture for many years, . That was the hint given by two high-profile names in local football this week.

In emphasising the importance of fan support, both Bermuda Football Association president Larry Mussenden and former West Ham United star forward Clyde Best who is also the spokesman for tour organisers Setplay, stressed that if the Santos tour is successful, then it would inspire organisations to push for more tours from countries like Brazil.

But if the fans opt to stay away, which is unlikely from a first-ever tour by a Brazilian team, then hopes of anything similar could be remote.

"We are absolutely thrilled that Setplay have brought this top team in from Brazil and by all accounts it is going to be an exciting tour that will produce a flavour of football that Bermuda will appreciate and enjoy," said Mussenden.

"But we must also encourage all of Bermuda to come out and help make this tour a success for Setplay and football in general or their efforts will have been in vain. We want to see the Stadium packed like it was when El Salvador came ? success will inspire others to look into the possibility of bringing in other teams. We want to see large crowds at Somerset also because Bermuda is in store for a fantastic tour.

"The BFA is pleased to see that our senior National squad, a Select side as well as Dandy Town have a chance to play against them.

"The mandate of the BFA is to promote the playing of football and the more that our senior squad and club teams get exposure the better all round it will be for our game in general and therefore I commend Setplay, Clyde Best and Anthony Raynor for organising the tour."

Best said that since this will be the first ever visit by a full Brazilian club team it was vital for locals to come out and get a first-hand look at their brand of football which most have only witnessed on television.

"But the attendance will be the key because it will indicate whether groups like ours or anybody else would be bothered to enter into a similar venture," he said.

"If Bermuda want this to be a good thing they have to come out and give the support because, simply, if the support is not there then we have to think of other things. This is going to be the first time we have had a quality side from South America and we don't want to stop here.

"But what I would really like to point out is that not many players get the chance to play against a team with the calibre of players that Santos have ? regardless of what sort of players they are sending they are still going to be better to what our players have come up against.

"The fact that a player represents Santos says a lot ? there are going to be some young boys and some of them are going to be vying for first team spots and you can bet your life that they are going to be giving it their all. Santos are a young team and when they manage to get in the team they have to be something special."

Best added that he remembered watching them a few weeks ago when they played for a championship and they had a 17-year old on the field.

He noted that the important thing here was that even if a player was not recognised at this stage you can bet that in time to come ? and not too far down the road at that ? the odds are that he will be a top international player for Brazil.

"If anybody wants to see something different ? a good standard of football ? they must come out and watch and enjoy this talent. I would advise everybody that enjoys the game to come out," he said.

"We in Bermuda tend to follow a lot of British football, but we are giving you something different ? good foot work, good running off the ball, tantalising one-two passing, a lot of attractive short passing, overlapping, and this is the sort of stuff a lot of us are not accustomed to. There definitely will be a difference ? it's going to be a very, very large difference because we are amateurs and they are professionals."

Should any groups be in need of tickets for any of the games they can call 737-8850. Tickets will be delivered to them provided it's for a group.