The traditional start of the new soccer season has been put back a fortnight at the request of coaches involved in a course currently being run by the Bermuda Football Association.

This means that the curtain-raising Charity Cup, featuring North Village and Dandy Town, will now be played on Saturday, September 14.

Charles Clarke, chairman of the BFA's League and Competitions Committee, revealed the move yesterday saying it was likely, but not definite, the match would take place at BAA Field.

"We've decided to meet the request of the coaches and put the Charity Cup back two weeks," he said. "Usually the season starts the weekend prior to Labour Day, but the coaches involved in the course have asked for an additional two weeks to allow them time to implement some things they have learned into their own club programmes."

The change of dates has not caused the BFA any problems in scheduling.

"We've always had the Charity Cup played the Saturday preceding the Labour Day holiday, but now we've put it back a few weeks," he said. "Now we have the Martonmere Cup opener starting on Saturday, September 21 with the second game of that competition scheduled for the following Saturday, September 28."

During the off season the Martonmere Cup and Dudley Eve competitions were the subject of the BFA's restructuring plans - changes the public will see in a year's time.

The Martonmere Cup alterations will see the top two league finishers from last time automatically getting a place in the competition this season and the third, fourth, fifth and sixth placed teams meeting each other in a one-game elimination - the two winners from this group moving on to join up in a four-team round-robin series.

The Dudley Eve has had a total overhaul and will now feature a visiting club against either the Bermuda senior national squad, the local champions of the Premier Division or leaders at that period of the season.

Originally it included the top four Premier Division teams at the half-way stage of the season.

This all means that it is possible that the champions of the Dudley Eve, for the first time in the history of local soccer, could be a foreign team.

According to Clarke the structural changes would remain in place unless there was an `outcry' by clubs at the forthcoming annual general meeting scheduled for the middle of next month.

League play in the Premier and First Divisions, meanwhile, will kick off on Sunday, October 6.