national team the opportunity to enter into the World Cup campaign "a regressive step''.

Forced to absorb severe criticism when he entered Bermuda in the prestigious competition in 1990 for the first time in 20 years, Dane nevertheless persevered when others would have bowed under the pressure.

Rather than withdrawing the application, Dane boldly stood by his decision which was to eventually produce great dividends for local soccer.

Bermuda then went on a historic march by advancing past the preliminary and qualifying rounds into the first round of the World Cup before bowing out after giving a spirited performance in a round-robin tournament that featured three other countries.

Dane, like others who are dismayed that the BFA are not following up on Bermuda's finest moment in soccer, believes the decision is a wrong one.

"It is indeed a regressive step. The way the World Cup success got the country together as a nation was unbelievable, not entering for the next one tells me that there was no real preparation for the future,'' he said yesterday.

Sadly, admitted Dane, the contributing factors were likely economical and the aftermath of the Miami Seven drug scandal.

While admitting that there may indeed be obstacles, he nevertheless felt that the decision to bypass the World Cup revealed that there was no preparation in place when it came to the development of our national teams.

"When we entered the World Cup, so many of the affiliates were opposed to it.

My belief was that even if you didn't have the money if you start playing at this level and bring the country together you will get the sponsorship because everybody likes a winner,'' said Dane.

Admitting that the Miami drug incident continues to plague soccer in a negative way, Dane also felt that a lack of leadership by the BFA in dealing with the incident from the outset had contributed in alienating the business community. That resulted in businesses withholding much-needed cash to assist ongoing programmes.

Dane said that the BFA could have dealt with the Miami Seven issue much better, then put a lot of blame into the laps of the excecutive and president Richard Thompson.

"The BFA were so indecisive as to what to do. I know that if that had happened to me I know that we would have had a legal panel to call upon and I would have gotten them together quickly and sent at least one lawyer to Miami to speak with the lawyer there representing the players,'' said Dane.

"The problem is that you have expertise that you don't call upon, unfortunately it didn't look good at all the way things were handled.'' During his tenure, Dane said that the public and the business community were supportive because they had faith in the BFA's leadership. He then said that a lack of leadership foments instability.

A former coach who had inspired many players with his firmness and decisiveness, Dane has always been on the cutting edge of coaching improvements and is still convinced that doing so will lead to having better players which will eventually lead to better results at the national level.

But he also acknowledged that the business community would always be keen to rally behind the BFA when there was evidence of a constructive programme being undertaken to assist young players.

As an example he referred to Shell Company of Bermuda who came forward during challenging financial times when he was president to give sponsorship for the Diadora Cup, revealing that they gave over $100,000 during his five years at the helm of the local governing body.

"That competition was essential for our young players and it's no longer around. I remember when Shell gave us assistance when we didn't have money to buy a pair of socks and they gratefully outfitted six teams with two sets of outfits,'' recalled Dane.

"Then there was another overseas company who gave similar support by providing gear for our national teams, thanks to hard work by Mark Trott. They only sponsored us if we were going to be seen internationally and for us not to enter the World Cup makes one wonder what companies are going to say.''