with the set-up on the Island during their recent two-match tour.

And they have promised to help arrange matches in Scandinavia and throughout the rest of Europe should the Bermuda national team have the opportunity to tour on the other side of the Atlantic. Officials who accompanied the Danish Olympic squad said the tour had been one of the best they had been involved in and they were "looking forward to a good co-operation in the future''. They said they were also surprised by the standard of Bermuda's team, who beat them 2-0 in the second of the matches. In a letter to The Royal Gazette team secretary Christian Bordinggaard said: "We travel a lot all over the world but the Danish officials as well as all the players agreed that it had been a very special and successful tour to Bermuda. "Though the Bermuda Football Association might be one of the smallest in the world, we discovered that everything was taken good care of even to the smallest detail. During out stay we had perfect support and all our needs were fulfilled.'' The Danish squad, all under-23 but containing two players from Champions League qualifiers Brondby, spent nine days on the Island late last month. They also took advantage of the facilities at Stonington Beach Hotel, where they held a training camp in advance of crucial matches against Croatia and Italy in the coming months.

And in a move that will spell good news not just for sport on the Island but tourism in general, they have promised to spread their excellent impression of Bermuda across Europe.

BFA general secretary David Sabir said: "They expressed delight in the overall way they were received by Bermuda and Bermudians. They also expressed a desire to return and if ever we were in a position to go to Denmark, beyond arranging matches in their country they said they would help to arrange matches in the rest of Europe.'' Sabir agreed that getting positive word-of-mouth reports on Bermuda had also been one of the objectives of the tour.

"We were in keeping with the Ministry of Tourism's desire to spread good publicity about Bermuda.

"Football and sport in general can play a significant part in that. "If we can impress a group such as the Danish, they can carry our voice back with them.'' Bordingggard even had praise for the culinary skills of the Stonington chefs. "Even though it is restricted what the players are allowed to eat during a training camp the chef varied the meals in a way so we were really impressed. "We enjoyed every minute of our visit to Bermuda and we have never met such hospitality.'' The BFA plans to disclose its decision over the abandoned first division match between Vasco and Southampton Rangers early next week, once the clubs involved have been informed.

Referee Lawrence DeShields called the January 17 game off in the 80th minute with Vasco 3-1 up after violence flared between players and fans.