Three teams will be relegated from the First Division and only one promoted at the end of next season as the top flight in local football is slimmed down to eight teams for the 1999-2000 campaign.

A roster system will also be implemented for clubs who will be able to register a maximum number of players for the season.

And for the first time since the early 1980s, a third division will be added to the programme.

Bermuda Football Association confirmed all of the changes this week.

The present First Division will be called the Premier Division after this season, with the Second Division being referred to as the First Division and the new division the Second Division.

The top flight, which presently has 10 teams, will be trimmed to eight, while the next division will also have eight and the new Second Division 10 teams.

In each case there will be just one team relegated and one promoted.

Also, as recommended by the BFA Youth Committee, the Under-21 Premier Division will be disbanded and the Bantam Division age limit extended to under 19.

That leaves the Alliance Division, to be renamed the Reserve Division, to serve as a developmental league for promising young players. No points will be awarded and five substitutes will be allowed.

Changes to the present league structure were among recommendations put to and accepted by the affiliates during the BFA's meeting with the clubs on Monday night.

Another major recommendation by the Competitions Committee is the changing of the Commercial League to the Veterans Division, involving players with a minimum age of 35.

That league presently has two divisions but will be cut with some teams either merging, dropping out or, in the case of the more competitive teams and those with younger players, moving into the Second Division.

To facilitate the changes, the top seven teams in the First Division at the end of the upcoming season will move into the Premier Division along with the Second Division champions, which means relegation for the bottom three First Division teams.

That will also mean that either PHC or/and Somerset Trojans, once two of the powers in local football, will have to spend at least another season out of the top division.

"We were looking for a way to raise the quality of the participants in football versus the quantity,'' said BFA general secretary David Sabir.

He confirmed that there was also a possibility of reducing the number of competitions, which would also mean less midweek matches. The plan is to have the Reserve, Veterans and Second Divisions play on Saturdays and the Premier and First Divisions on Sunday. Midweek dates will be put aside for cup matches.

The transfer system has been scrapped in favour of a roster system.

All senior players will be eligible for release on May 1 of each year and the American system of a roster will be implemented with clubs required to provide a list with a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 25. If a club also registers a Reserve team they will be allowed to sign on a minimum of 25 players and a maximum of 30.

Deadline for the registration of team rosters is August 15 for Premier Division teams and August 31 for all other teams. For the new season the deadline is August 15 for First Division and August 31 for all others.

"We are hoping to have teams compete equally, so that there is no unfair advantage for a club that is able to attract 50 or 60 players versus one that is only able to attract 25,'' said Sabir of the roster plan.

He said the responsibility would now be on the clubs to select players they have intentions of using in their programme.

"The attempt really is to raise the level of the management of football which hopefully will raise the quality of the participants at each club,'' said Sabir.

"This will put the onus on the clubs to determine which players are best suited for their club, their goals and objectives and which players can meet those objectives.'' Coaching Committee recommendations included having all coaches trained and certified by the year 2001, development of the international programme by competing in overseas tournaments such as the Shell Caribbean Cup, and entering the qualifying competition for the 2002 World Cup.