BERMUDA must embrace a professional attitude to football if the game is ever going to improve here.So said Alvin Corneal, a FIFA technical consultant, who is on the island for a week to help the Bermuda Football Association assess the sport.

Corneal, who is from Trinidad, said that in the wake of the massive $15 million grant given to the BFA from Government those that govern the game in Bermuda must get rid of any amateur thinking and take it to a new level — a professional level.

“It is a complex task,’ he said. “You will be moving from one stage to another — moving from an amateur status to what I consider will be the first stage of a professional set up.

“You must be prepared to be professional. You must develop a professional attitude to the game because there is a lot of money coming into it now.

“When that kind of money is invested into a sport it becomes a business. And what happens is that those who are volunteering their services have to understand that there is a need for a professional approach in every aspect.

“This turns a new leaf on Bermuda’s football. You have to have a new programme.”

One of the major changes is the amateur mind-set, said the FIFA man.

“Things have to change. You may have an association or a club where everyone volunteers their services. Someone works at the bank and volunteers to be the treasurer etc. But then any time something sticky comes along, they say ‘I am only doing this voluntarily’. But they have to forget that today. The word voluntary doesn’t mean anything. If you are going to do it make sure you are professional about it. That doesn’t mean that it has to have money around it. It means that it has to have commitment and you have to be qualified to do the job.”

And putting people into positions of authority in associations and clubs just because they are your friends must also stop, said Corneal.

“It is not only here that it happens. We see it all over the Caribbean. People put other people into positions (of authority) because they are good friends. Then you find out that when that person gets into the job he doesn’t know how to do it. That is a disservice to the organisation. That has to change. We need specialists that will do things. We need a marketing person to market the game properly — have surveys — look around the country and find the best way to get that spectator to come out and watch the game.

“There is so much need in changing the approach to things. You have to put the machinery in motion.”

To that end Corneal will be meeting with all of those involved with football in Bermuda — everyone from coaches to administrators.

And after he leaves the island next Wednesday he will prepare a comprehensive report.

“I have to give a report to FIFA, the BFA and the (Bermuda) Government. That will happen before August 12 as I have to go to South Korea for the Under 17 World Cup.

“I am very adamant of getting the job done. However this is not a job that will be finished on August 12 because I am personally going to come back here and see what progress has been made.

“If you are going to improve the game in Bermuda it has to be long-term — it has to be monitored very carefully.”

Asked when a technical director will be appointed, BFA chief Larry Mussenden said: “We will be waiting for this report first. After that we should be able to determine our requirements.”

The BFA boss said that the association has received numerous applications for the technical director’s job from those in Bermuda and overseas. “We have not had to advertise anywhere,” he added.

“This is the blueprint. We will have a plan for Bermuda. The technical director will be somebody that will be able to implement the components of such a plan.”

Corneal added: “You do not even have a direction for him (a technical director) to follow yet. A technical director in a country that is amateur is totally different to that of a technical director in a country that is professional. It is a different type of requirement.”

[obox] The BFA wishes to remind registered players that the deadline for applications for the BFA Legends’ Scholarship is today.

The scholarships are as follows:

Reuben Alias Scholarship for $15,000

Dudley Eve Scholarship for $10,000

Dianne Hunt Scholarship for $10,000 (to be awarded to a female football player)

Clyde Best Scholarship for>$5,000<$>

Earl Hart Scholarship for $5,0$>

Wendell ‘Joe’ Trott Scholarship for $5,000