Karl Roberts will take charge of the Bermuda Women’s football team for the first time tonight (7pm).

Roberts, an assistant to Naquita Robinson for the past couple of years, is stepping up to the top position for back-to-back games against Belize at the Flora Duffy Stadium this week while the Bermuda Football Association seeks to find a permanent replacement.

There is a calm assurance to Roberts and it is clear he sees his two games in charge as evolution and not revolution.

“These two matches are about everybody getting an opportunity to show what they can do,” Roberts said.

“Even though I'm not going to be the head coach, there has to be a conversation about next steps and about where we go from here. Whoever the BFA decides to be head coach, it’s about continuing this and trying to take the girls to the next level.”

This is a time of transition for the senior women’s team after Robinson stepped down, the retirement of Jaden Masters and Kenni Thompson deciding to take a potentially permanent break from football after these matches.

Roberts sees this as the ideal opportunity to blood new players, with a number of youngsters likely to feature in the two games this week.

“Jaden Masters and Kenni have done this country proud,” Roberts said.

“They have a willingness to give back to the Bermuda community and are putting themselves out there to develop Bermuda football.

“They are looking to develop Bermuda’s future players because Jaden's starting her own coaching programme and Kenni was talking to the under-17 national team the other day about things that they need to get better with.

“We have a good group of ladies that are willing to give back, inspire and empower the next generation.

“What we’ve done is we’ve included three girls that just participated with the under-17 tour. They’ve been included in this team selection, so it’s just a matter of taking what Coach Quita has already done and growing it.”

Roberts’s first involvement with the national team came in away matches in Belize in 2024, which gives him a guide as to what to expect from Bermuda’s opponents this week.

“I know Belize are no pushovers; they’re a very good team. Sometimes we look at Fifa or Concacaf rankings and we feel as we should beat certain teams or get the best of them, but Belize have a good team.

“We respect their coaching staff and the country for their development, so we’re just looking forward to two good matches.”