Bermuda Under-20 national football captain Keishen Bean has accused Government of neglecting local football — the Island’s “forgotten” national sport.

Bean attributed his team’s dismal showing during last week’s Under-20 World Cup qualifiers in Haiti to a lack of proper preparation and inadequate facilities locally in which to train.

“We went to one of the poorest countries in the world and their national stadium and other facilities were much better than ours. And this was in Haiti. . . . one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

“Now if one of the poorest countries in the world can do it, then why can’t we — one of the richest countries — provide the same facilities for our footballers?” Bean argued.

“I think this is one of the biggest issues we have with football here in Bermuda, and I don’t think Government is putting the money and the time into football like they did for cricket.

“I’m not targeting cricket, because I’m am happy and proud with what cricket has achieved, but you can’t give one national sport a lump sum of money and then totally forget about the other national sport, which is football.

“I feel we are actually being disrespected in a sense because we aren’t getting the time or the money put into our sport — and you just cannot disrespect football.”

Bean’s criticism arrived on the heels of Bermuda Football Association’s (BFA) announcement of an ambitious $36 million, six-year plan to revamp football locally and new Sports Minister Randy Horton’s pledge to advocate “increased investment” in football and all other local sports.

Meanwhile, Bermuda’s humbled Under-20 national team arrived home from a disappointing ordeal in the Caribbean on Monday morning.

The local squad were ousted from the Under-20 World Cup qualifying competition after finishing rock bottom in their respective qualifying group.

Bermuda were trounced 11-1 in their opening contest against the host nation, beaten 3-1 by Jamaica in the second and slammed 5-1 in their third and final match against Netherlands Antilles.

But while Bean struggled to find answers for his team’s humiliating 11-1 thrashing in their opening contest, he strongly believes his team should have bounced back against Jamaica to keep their qualifying hopes alive.

Bermuda allowed the match against the Jamaicans to slip from their grasp after seizing an early lead.

Ajani Gibbons fired Bermuda ahead from the penalty spot after diminutive forward Shayne Hollis was pulled down in the box. However, a physically superior Jamaica clawed their way back in the latter stages of the match to go through to the next round.

“Obviously we lost the first game 11-1, but I felt the second game against Jamaica we came out with a lot of heart and held out for 70 minutes before they scored their goals,” Bean told The Royal Gazette.

“I am pleased with the manner in which we fought, but it was unfortunate how we let our heads down near the end.”

Their qualifying hopes now shattered, Bermuda had only pride left to play for in their third and final group match against Netherlands Antilles played at the Stade Slyvio Cator in Port-au-Prince.

“In the last match I felt the other team (Netherlands) actually came out to play and were the better team on the day. And unfortunately a couple of our guys had knocks and different things like that,” Bean said.

And in terms of the calibre of football itself, the Bermuda skipper explained: “I think we fell short physically because skill-wise we were able to match the other teams.

“They were a bit taller than us but as far as our strength and ball skills were concerned, we were all on a level playing field.”

Bermuda’s youngsters also struggled to adapt to playing in much warmer conditions.

“The other teams were more accustomed to playing in those conditions. We actually played in 105-degree heat,” Bean said.

And in addition to having to cope with the sweltering heat and tough opposition, the local team also encountered other obstacles beyond the pitch itself.

“From the transportation to the food . . . . everything was obviously sub-standard to what we are used to here in Bermuda,” Bean said.

“One of the hardest things for us to do was eating the same food every day and still trying to have the energy to get up and play football.

“But other than that it was a good learning experience for all of us.”