2007 has seen dramatic, and far-reaching, changes alter the Bermudian football landscape.

The Island had been without a professional small-sided league and franchise team, the governing body was $15 million poorer, while a different man was in charge of the national team when revellers crooned Auld Lang Syne to welcome in the year.

But the birth of Bermuda Hogges, the launch of the Island Soccer League (ISL) and the encouraging start to Keith Tucker's tenure have been significant developments and offer us portions of promise for the 12 months ahead.

Mouth-watering World Cup qualifiers against the Cayman Islands, potential showdowns with Caribbean powerhouses Trinidad and Tobago and a Digicel Cup qualifying campaign lie ahead for Tucker's young side.

While challenges are also afoot for the Hogges, who must rise to the greater expectations 2008 will inevitably bring as they endeavour to evolve into a competitive USL-D2 franchise.

The hatching of the Hogges was arguably the most exciting development of the football calendar, with it providing a professional platform for domestic players to aspire to.

Promising plot-lines were embedded in the final chapters of their maiden season, but in the words of skipper Kwame Steede, Hogges took some "licks", opening up with nine consecutive defeats leaving them marooned at the foot of the table — a position they occupied permanently as the campaign played out.

Heavy losses at the hands of high-flying Charlotte Eagles and Richmond Kickers were par for the course during these embryonic stages, but alarm bells were audible when they slipped to a morale-sapping defeat against fellow strugglers Wilmington Hammerheads at the National Sports Centre. Could Hogges go the entire season without tasting the sweet nectar of victory?

President Shaun Goater soon quenched that particular thirst, rolling back the years by bagging a brace against New Hampshire Phantoms the following game to remove the proverbial monkey from the players' backs.

They chalked up a pair of wins and draws before the season's climax, but statistics tell only half the tale with their final displays unrecognisable from their tentative start, and it was fitting that top scorer Stevie Astwood was named USL-D2 Rookie of the Year.

Next time around Hogges won't be viewed as rookies though, and it's presumed subtle changes will be made to their roster before they return to the professional stage.

In February the Bermuda Football Association (BFA) received $15 million from the Government to finance a six-year overhaul of the domestic game, making them the richest sporting body on the Island.

Yet other than a friendly against Canada in March the national team remained inactive following defeats against Haiti in the Carribean qualifiers early in the year, leading a disillusioned Kenny Thompson to quit as interim coach in October.

Howard University supremo Keith Tucker was promptly appointed as his successor and the national team signed off 2007 on a high with a 4-2 win over St. Kitts and Nevis, courtesy of an Aljame Zuill hat-trick, marking their first victory in 13 months.

Back in October, The Royal Gazette revealed former England ace Paul Mariner and ex-Reggae Boyz coach Rene Simoes had thrown their hats into the ring to become the BFA's new technical director.

However, it later emerged both candidates had withdrawn their interest with Simoes looking to relive former glories as Jamaica's new TD. It's believed the BFA plan to fill their crucial post early in 2008 having completed the interview process.

It proved to be a year of mixed emotions for Khano Smith who made the transition from peripheral striker to wingback wizard becoming a regular starter for the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer (MLS).

But despite helping the Revs to their first ever piece of silverware in the US Open Cup, history repeated itself in the main event as they suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Houston Dynamo in November's MLS Cup. It was the third successive year the Revs had fallen at the final hurdle.

On the domestic front Devonshire Cougars reigned supreme, scooping the 2006-7 Premier Division title in March, while near neighbours Devonshire Colts were arguably the local scene's success story, marrying their First Division title and Shield with a history-making FA Challenge Cup triumph over Premier outfit Boulevard.

For John Rebello's team however, 2007 will be a year they will remember for very different reasons with the death of their talisman, and Bermuda international, Shaki Crockwell who died in August after being shot. He was just 25 years old.

Another death that rocked the football community was that of former Bermuda international Marischal (MOP) Astwood who died from motor neurone disease in August, aged 56.

The striker, who in 1970-71 won the coveted Triple Crown championship at PHC, remains the only local footballer to play every position for the senior national team.

Bermuda also lost ex-Devonshire Colts, PHC and Bermuda international James Parsons in August, aged 56.

Kyle Lightbourne's PHC came out of the starting blocks the quickest at the start of the 2007-8 season and claimed the Martonmere Cup in a nail-biting penalty-shootout over Cougars last month. The Zebras are currently perched at the top of the Premier Division as the second half of the season approaches.

If 2007 was a year which saw the seeds of change planted to reinvigorate Bermudian football, then next year must see them begin to blossom. Roll on 2008!