Commercial League teams are to be given a 14-day deadline to respond to radical new plans to restructure the league into three divisions and reintroduce a Commercial Cup, possibly to be played at the National Sports Centre.

Full details of the options have yet to emerge but Bermuda Football Association chiefs want to reorganise the league to reduce mismatches between those playing competitively and older players wanting to enjoy a recreational kickabout.

Alternatives will include sticking with the present system of two divisions of ten or more clubs while restricting the Commercial B to the over-30s or moving to three divisions of eight clubs who will also get a crack at playing ?on the carpet? via a knockout Cup.

It is not clear if the three-division format will have any age restrictions.

The BFA believe an open league could allow teams to find their natural level and help reduce the now common scenario of teams promoted to the A division returning after one sorry season because they could not bridge the gap.

Last year Devonshire Lions and Somerset Bridge Peskies returned after just one season with only 13 points between them, with Lions failing to even win a game.

An eight-team division, with an increased likelihood of relegation, could beef up competition as each team has something to play for right until the end. Last season once it became clear only MR Onions or Lobster Pot could win the league many teams gave up and fielded short-handed or under-strength teams.

The three-tier plan was partially unveiled at a well-attended meeting of club representatives at BAA clubhouse on Wednesday night where BFA general secretary David Sabir repeatedly offered reassurances that the aim was not to remove any team or player currently in the Commercial League.

Several representatives from A Division clubs said they were happy with the structure with BAA?s Tommy Gribbon noting last year?s league had been the most competitive in years with six or seven clubs in with a chance of winning it.

And others pointed out that age was not the issue as many of the older players were just as competitive as the younger ones who might not have the skills of their elders.

But Sabir asked those happy with the status quo not to trample over those who felt uncomfortable in the present format.

He got support from Devonshire Colts player Ray Jones who said players now enjoying the pace of Commercial A would be calling for something more sedate ten years down the line.

When the league was set up, younger players were barred although that restriction has been forgotten in a bid not to exclude people wanting to enjoy the game.

Sabir told the meeting: ?The last thing we want to do is focus on the A division.?

But the 11-team division posed fixture scheduling problems for the BFA when matches were blown out by poor weather while the B division was increased to a dozen teams and the season went on several weeks longer, stretching well into April.

Sabir said the real problem was with age discrepancies in the B Division. Last year the lower division was characterised by lopsided wins, short-handed teams and no-shows from both teams and referees.

The BFA believe a three-tier format would reduce fixture congestion but revive interest for mid-table clubs by offering a Cup alternative.

The season would climax with a final in mid-March and could be put on the same bill as the Friendship Trophy Final at one of the Island?s top grounds, including the National Sports Centre, said BFA sources.

Sabir urged clubs to say which of the three divisions they would want to start in but it was unclear whether promotion and relegation would carry on among all three divisions or just the top two.

The BFA have a blueprint ready to go for next season but when Tuff Dogs representative Manny Faria asked how the top eight teams in the A Division would be determined Sabir said he could not say. Details would be revealed in a letter sent to clubs.

He said: ?We will do this in 14 days ? information will go out, information will come back.?