Former national coach Robert Calderon believes that soccer in Bermuda will die out unless there are major changes at grass-roots level.

Recent years had seen a severe decline in standards of top-flight Bermudian soccer, said Calderon, one of the most respected figures in the local game, and now was the time for action to reverse soccer's ailing fortunes.

He called for effective junior programmes run by top coaches, a reduction in the number of domestic competitions and more emphasis on soccer at home as opposed to international competitions to reverse the decline.

And he suggested Andrew Bascome should be high on the list of candidates when Bermuda Football Association choose a successor to him as national coach.

Calderon, a former top player and national team captain, quit as Bermuda coach last April after the team's exit from the World Cup to Antigua on away goals.

After a six-month hiatus, Calderon has recently returned to the game as part of Bascome's coaching team at one of his former clubs, Dandy Town.

He said Bermuda's demise as a soccer nation had been put into sharp focus by last year's World Cup disappointment.

"I wouldn't say our football is on its last legs, but it's certainly gasping for air,'' said Calderon.

"In our league, there are still pockets of good players around. I could pick out quite a few at clubs like North Village, Dandy Town, PHC and Wolves.

"But there was a time when every team had eight to 10 good players and that is just not the same any more. And that came home to roost during the World Cup.

"About 25 years ago, we had people like Clyde Best, Randy Horton, Gary Darrell, Dale Russell and Johnny Nusum playing professionally. But even without five key players like that, we were still able to field strong teams capable of doing extraordinarliy well in our region.

"But last year in the World Cup, we were without Shaun Goater and Kyle Lightbourne for the Antigua games and you could really see the difference.'' He urged the BFA to cut down the number of games to give clubs time to concentrate more on the quality of their soccer.

"When I played, there were just three competitions,'' said Calderon, a triple crown winner as player with North Village in the '70s. "I suppose the idea of having five competitions is to make more money by having more games. But it has had a negative impact.'' Calderon sounds SOS From Page 13 Calderon believed the resulting `saturation soccer' had triggered a vicious circle, with the game the loser.

"If the product is not good, then the crowds dwindle and if the crowds don't go, then the players don't perform and so the quality dies,'' he said.

"And the public are getting too much of a bad thing. I think we should do away with two competitions.'' When Calderon quit as coach, he said last year's World Cup campaign had been a "depressing experience'' with his job made difficult by the inability to field the country's best players, partly because of the widespread drugs problem.

And he confirmed that he would not be interested in returning to the hot seat when the BFA choose a new national coach in the coming weeks. But he said Hornets' head coach Bascome should be considered.

"In terms of coaches that are active, I would say Andrew is the best coach on the Island and I have recommended before that he should be involved in the national programme,'' said Calderon.

"I worked with Andrew before at North Village and later I asked him to help out in the national programme before the BVI game (in the World Cup last year) and I have a great deal of respect for him.

"We have a number of people who have a million-and-one drills and they can carry out those drills well. But the difference between those individuals and Andrew is that Andrew understands the game and he understands strategies and makes good decisions -- and you need that to be a really good coach.'' He added that when former BFA technical director Burkhard Ziese had been brought in from overseas, he had warmed to Bascome -- and that was a telling story.

"Andrew is a real student of football and you can tell after talking to the guy for five minutes that he knows the game,'' added Calderon.

When the BFA choose a new man to head the national programme, Calderon said everyone in the game should give him the support former technical director Clyde Best had not enjoyed.

"One of the problems that Clyde had was that Bermudian people and even coaches do not seem to want to support other Bermudians,'' said Calderon.

"Gary Darrell experienced some of that too. You get pockets of people who support you, then the other 50 percent are hoping you fail.'' He used the example of German Ziese as a comparison to Best to make his point.

"When Ziese first came to Bermuda, he moved quickly to a system best suited to the qualities -- and deficiencies -- of our players,'' said Calderon.

"He shored up the back line with a sweeper and played five and sometimes six in defence and no local coaches were saying anything about it.

"When Clyde came in, his tactics were criticised by several people in the coaching fraternity and yet he was using the same system.

"If the BFA want a technical director, then they need to get someone who other people will work for. It's impossible for someone in that role to do it all himself.'' Calderon himself is looking at the possibility of coaching juniors at some time in the future and he hoped other top coaches would do the same.

"We absolutely have to improve our junior programmes and we need our best coaches involved,'' said Calderon. "If we don't do it, the game will die.

"We need to keep youngsters interested. We should be putting under-13 games on before Premier Division games, so they have the chance to play in front of a crowd.'' Outspoken: Former national team coach Robert Calderon believes urgent action is needed to reverse domestic soccer's decline.