North Village's Elliott Jennings said goodbye to Premier Division soccer on Sunday and will officially bow out of the game altogether at the end of the month after the team appears in the FA Cup final.

Jennings (35) got a loud applause at Bernard Park on Sunday when it was announced that he was making his last league appearance, calling it a day after close to 20 years with the team.

Why call it quits at this stage? "It's simply the time for me to do it,'' said Jennings. "From the start of the season I knew this would be the final one for me because I have just played long enough.

"Something like 19 to 20 years with the same club is sufficient time that's for sure,'' added the player who has also had a long, illustrious career as a midfielder and forward with the Bermuda senior national squad.

Jennings has experienced all the highs and lows of local soccer over the past two decades. And no coach at club or national level would disagree that he has always given his all and his intensity and work rate have never been doubted.

"It's been some wonderful years, I recall starting in the youth ranks of North Village when I was just six years old, it's been great, I've had no complaints at all,'' he said.

Others before him have had second thoughts after making similar moves when they are still able to contribute to the senior team and have returned, but Jennings reckons that this is a final step for him.

There is some suggestion that he might in fact still have an impact at Village as an assistant coach but he probably will be giving this further thought before making it official.

"I am satisfied with what I have achieved with the club and I have no complaints at all. But I surely don't think that I will be coming back, that's for sure,'' he insisted.

One team-mate who recognises the great contribution he has made as a player and leader of the club is his nephew, centre back Kentoine Jennings.

Kentoine doesn't hide the fact that he has always thought of his uncle as his mentor, claiming that he has influenced many at the club and in local soccer throughout the Island by the great sportsmanship he has displayed during his whole career.

"It's good to see him go out of this game like this, in good health and still playing well enough to make a major contribution to this season,'' said Kentoine.

"We still have a lot of youngsters coming through and I am sure that he sees this and realises that they are capable of doing a good job.'' "He has been a role model to me ever since I was able to understand the game.

I have watched him through those early years with the first team and I have always looked up to him and admired him.

"He has not just been my uncle but a friend, a mentor who has always encouraged me to do the right things both in life and on the field of play.'' Football family: Elliott Jennings (left), pictured with his nephew and North Village team-mate Kentoine Jennings last Sunday, when Elliott made his last league appearance.