It could cost over $80,000, but football bosses made it clear yesterday they will do all they can to bring the second stage of the Digicel Caribbean Cup to Bermuda.

Kyle Lightbourne?s team finished top of the first qualifying group in the US Virgin Islands last week thanks to 6-0 and 3-1 wins over USVI and the Dominican Republic respectively.

And now Bermuda Football Association are to lobby the Caribbean Football Union in an effort to bring the four-team second stage to the Island in November ? though as usual, the cost factor will make the task far from straightforward.

The top two teams from the second stage go through to the eight-team finals in Trinidad this January ? with the top three finishers from there qualifying for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup ? the Americas? version of the European Championships.

?I?d like to first congratulate the team for having a 100 percent record down in the US Virgin Islands and for qualifying for the next stage,? said BFA president Larry Mussenden yesterday.

?We?re all really excited and pleased with how well they did and it is a testament to the hard work and commitment of both the players and the coaching staff.

?Now we?re looking at the next round and we?re very keen to hold it here in Bermuda in either late October but more likely mid-November.

?In terms of the facilities at our disposal, everybody knows that right through from the hotels to the pitch at the National Sports Centre, what we have is first class and we?ve got no doubts whatsoever that we?re capable of hosting an excellent tournament.

?But as on any occasion when we try and bring teams to the Island, pricing is an issue and as of Monday we intend to start working on this.

?There are a large number of obligations placed on the host nation in these tournaments, and we would be expected to cover all accommodation and transport costs, as well as laundry and food.

?That is even before you begin to think about what it costs to rent the National Sports Centre and we will have to sit down with the trustees in the very near future to see what we can work out.?

The ?very high cost? of using the NSC has been a problem for not just the BFA but for all national sporting bodies in the past, and Mussenden said that while in an ideal world all national team games should be played there, the limited nature of their budget might force them to look elsewhere.

?We?ve talked to the people at the Sports Centre before about giving us a rate that is affordable, but they have normally been of the opinion that they have bills to pay and cannot offer us anything less than the usual amount.

?This does place a big strain on our ability to host tournaments. The NSC takes 15 or 20 percent of the gate, while we are expected to pay for the clearing up after each match as well as the overtime pay that employees at the NSC are entitled to.

?Our rough estimate is that it will cost around $80,000 to host the next round of the Digicel Cup and the cost of using the Sports Centre takes up about 35 percent of that.

?If this continues in the future, we might have to consider the possibility of playing these types of games at one of our club grounds like at Somerset or BAA. We wouldn?t want to do that, but I think it would be prudent for us to examine every available option.?

Mussenden added that sponsors Digicel would provide whoever hosts the next stage with a $20,000 subsidy to offset some of the cost ? while the rest of the required money would have to be raised through both public and private sponsorship.

?We?re going to have to act quickly, but we?re going to be working hard to make sure the money is in place,? he said.

?The package that comes from Digicel and the CFU will help considerably, and certainly we will be looking to find some corporate support and also to persuade the Government to get involved as well.

?As of Monday we will be in contact with the CFU to move this plan forward.?

Bermuda will face any one of three teams in the next round who as of last night were still battling it out in Group D action in Jamaica.

Haiti are already through, having guaranteed their place in the next round with two wins over St. Vincent and St. Lucia ? but defending Digicel Cup champions Jamaica were on the brink of a shock elimination last night.

Having won their opening game against St.Lucia 4-0 last Wednesday night, the Reggae Boyz suffered a humiliating 2-1 defeat to minnows St. Vincent on Friday evening, meaning that only a win would do against Haiti.

Level with Jamaica on three points from two games, St. Vincent were due to play St. Lucia yesterday as well, but neither result was through by Press time.