select the two squads for the first All-Star Football Classic in February.

Staging all-star matches has been in the Bermuda Football Association's plans since the start of the season. Now with three major sponsors in place -- Coca Cola, The Royal Gazette and Colonial Insurance -- all systems are go for a February 2 extravaganza at Somerset Cricket Club.

There will be two other all-star matches: Junior and women's.

And while those all-star teams will be chosen by coaches, the feature match will involve First and Second Division players chosen by Royal Gazette , readers who fill in ballots which will soon appear.

The First and Second Division coaches have helped make the selection process a little bit easier by forwarding the names of their top players for consideration.

It is only from that list that players can be nominated for selection, with two spots allotted for goalkeepers, six defenders and five midfielders and five forwards.

The match will serve as a timely prelude to the Island's re-entry into international soccer, with the Shell/Umbro Cup later in February.

"The whole idea of the all-star match is to showcase the local talent in the women, youth and senior divisions of our football programme,'' said BFA general secretary David Sabir.

"We see it as vitally important that a minimum incentive package be put in place for our players and we see an all-star match as being one of the vehicles by which this can be done.'' Sabir explained that the women's teams will comprise the best six players from each team in the league, chosen by the team coaches. The youth squads will also be chosen by the coaches and then forwarded to the youth selection committee of the BFA for final selection.

The aim of both the women's and junior matches is to showcase talent, particularly for college scholarships.

Like the secondary schools all-star match, US college coaches will be invited to Bermuda to scout possible recruits.

"We're hoping that via this match some of our girls will be given the opportunity to present themselves in the eyes of persons who can assist in getting them university scholarships,'' explained Sabir.

For the senior all-star match, the First and Second Division teams will be split into the East and West, with the East containing players from Devonshire Cougars, Devonshire Colts, St. George's, Boulevard, St. David's, North Village, Hotels, Wolves, Prospect and Hamilton Parish.

The teams in the West are Somerset Trojans, Somerset Eagles, Southampton Rangers, PHC, Vasco, Dandy Town, Social Club, Paget and BAA.

Sabir stressed that the all-star classic was made possible by the support of the three major sponsors.