It surely isn't the best way to kick off a new season - with a competition in which nobody seems interested in playing.

But that's exactly what will happen at BAA Field tomorrow night with the Charity Cup Final, the traditional curtain-raiser to Bermuda's soccer programme.

Much like its counterpart in England, the match holds little appeal for either players or spectators.

And there was hard evidence of that this week when Bermuda Football Association - who somewhat bizarrely confessed to not understanding their own rules - practically had to beg teams to come forward as opposition for league and cup double winners North Village.

The Charity match pits the champions of the league against the winners of the FA Cup, but this year League and Competitions chairman Charles Clarke and his committee found themselves in something of a quandary since Village won both.

Originally Dandy Town, the beaten cup finalists, were asked to provide the opposition but were none too bothered - one got the impression they were almost relieved - when the committee decided that under their own rules the St. John's Road club would have to stand down to make way for a team that actually won a trophy last season.

Thus, Dudley Eve champions Wolves were asked to fill the void. But their response was a swift 'thanks, but no thanks.'

Were the Charity Cup as prestigious a competition as some would have us believe, Town surely wouldn't have given up their place in the final without a fight, and Wolves might have relished taking on the Island's best to prove that they're a better club than their relegation from the top flight last term suggests.

Devonshire Cougars, apparently third in line, will now make up the numbers, having finally broken their trophy drought last season by lifting the Martonmere Cup.

But who's to say they are any more deserving of the 'honour' than Friendship Trophy champions PHC - apart maybe from Clarke, who just happens to be a former Cougars vice-president.

Regardless, the point seems to have been made that nobody really cares too much.

No doubt a good-sized crowd will turn up at BAA tomorrow night to enjoy their first taste of local football in more than four months, but will anybody worry about the final outcome? It's doubtful.

And will the players show the same enthusiasm we can expect when the season kicks off in earnest with the Martonmere and League in the next few weeks? That too is unlikely.

If the clubs themselves can't get enthused about the Charity Cup, then there's even less reason for the fans to show any interest.

And if that's the stage we've reached, it's perhaps time to consider alternatives for the start of the season - maybe a five-a-side competition involving all of the Premier teams in round-robin, or a skills contest in which the players are tested on their individual ability.

This week's events suggest that at least something new and inventive is required to give the sport an early lift.

The Charity Cup, it seems, no longer serves that purpose.