The international careers of the Island's old guard could be over with the Bermuda Football Association (BFA) reaffirming their commitment to youth development by arranging under-20 matches over the festive period.

BFA president Richard Calderon admitted yesterday that the senior national team programme remained on the backburner, insisting that players aged 23 and under were their top priority.

He also revealed there were no plans to appoint a successor to ex-head coach Kenny Thompson, increasing speculation that Scott Morton's Under-23 team will by de facto become the senior national team.

The Gombey Warriors have not kicked a ball in anger since their ill-fated Digicel Cup campaign in the summer of 2008 with the BFA shifting their focus on preparing the Under-23 team for their upcoming Pan-Am and Olympic qualifiers.

And rather than arrange senior internationals during the Christmas break, the BFA have decided there's more benefit in setting up a series of Under-20 games between December 24 and January 6.

"There are no plans to hire a senior national coach before the international games at Christmas," Calderon told The Royal Gazette. "The competition that we have secured is an Under-20 national team who will be pitted against our Under-20s.

"And yes, we have made it clear that our focus is on development and as such the priority has been and will continue to be placed on players under the age of 23.

"Clearly we will continue to provide opportunities for senior players as the competitions that we plan to enter leading up to the next World Cup qualifiers (Pan American Games, Olympic qualifiers) allow for a limited number of over aged players."

By 2014 Calderon and his staff envisage Bermuda having a realistic chance of qualifying for the Olympic Games, Pan-Am Games and winning a medal at the CAC Games.

The long-term plans to achieve those ambitious goals have already begun with the BFA forging a partnership with Bermuda Hogges to facilitate the grooming of tomorrow's Shaun Goaters and Kyle Lightbournes.

Morton's Under-23s played seven games against professional teams from the USL-D2 at BFA Field in the summer and it appears as though the bulk of that group will now make up the senior national team squad when the next World Cup qualifiers roll around.

Calderon has also revealed that three artificial turf experts visited Bermuda recently to assess the Island's football grounds, at both schools and clubs, with a view to installing more synthetic pitches.

The BFA's FIFA-funded $1.3 million artificial surface at BFA Field has proved a huge success and Calderon wants to create a partnership between clubs and school to help share the costs.

"No question, having a training ground in which to operate from is a significant plus," said Calderon. "But make no mistake the cost to create an artificial surface is huge.

"Last summer, under the Bermuda Football Foundation (BFF), three artificial turf experts visited Bermuda to assess many of our fields, both schools and clubs.

"An analysis was provided that included cost estimates. The ultimate aim was to create a partnership between the clubs and schools where both would share the cost and each would have equal access.

"I would love to see those discussions continue."

See tomorrow's Gazette for part two of our interview with BFA president Richard Calderon.