Bermuda Hogges have given Bermuda Football Association (BFA) control over coaching and player selection following a joint decision to enter the team in the Professional Development League (PDL) next season.

The move ends Hogges' three-season stint in the United Soccer Leagues Division Two and brings them in line with the BFA's drive to develop the Under-23 national team ahead of next year's CAC Games, Pan-Am and Olympic qualifiers.

It means Hogges are no longer a professional team as the PDL are the United States' top amateur league for players predominantly aged 23 and under.

Hogges owners Paul Scope, Shaun Goater and Kyle Lightbourne have not relinquished complete control, however, and will still be involved in the day-to-day running of the franchise.

Scope said it made sense for Hogges and the BFA to join forces and become a vehicle for the Under-23 national team players to prepare for important upcoming tournaments.

"Playing in the USL-D2 made it difficult to align ourselves with the BFA's strategic plan, we wanted to bring the bridge closer to the national academy programme," said Scope.

"We saw the success of the Under-23 national team last summer against USL-D2 opposition and how they improved with every game.

"That was the light bulb moment when we knew it was important for Hogges to start working with that group of players."

Although joining the PDL is financially more viable for the team's owners, Scope said there would still be considerable costs involved in entering Hogges in a league that is viewed as the 'shop window' for aspiring Major League Soccer (MLS) stars.

Crucially, though, Hogges will now be able to select the Island's most talented youngsters without threatening their eligibility to play college soccer.

"Obviously it will be cheaper to play in the PDL as we will not be paying our players," said Scope, "but there will still be considerable costs as we will be playing overseas and teams will be travelling to us."

"But we will be able to use players without affecting their college eligibility, something we could not do in the USL-D2. It will be a lot easier to get these players trials at professional clubs. By the time you are 26 you can pretty much forget it."

While the future appears rosy for Bermuda's starlets, the end of Hogges as a USL-D2 team almost certainly brings the shutters down on the old guard's professional days.

However, Scope said a few former players, expressing a desire to play in the PDL as over-age players, had contacted Hogges. PDL rules dictate a maximum of eight players on each team's 26-man roster can be over 23-years-old, while at least three players must be 18 or younger.

"If you look at the current Bermuda Under-23 squad to take on Trinidad, it includes four players who have played for the Hogges in the past," Scope said. "Although no player will be paid, some of the last season's squad have indicated they would like to remain involved and therefore will be considered.

"I think we used around 50 players over the three seasons and they all benefitted from their time playing for the Hogges. They were part of Bermuda football history by playing for the Island's first professional team."

The PDL has over 60 teams competing in four conferences, split into eight regional divisions, with the 16-match regular season running from May until July.

"It will be a very short league "It will be a very short league with Hogges playing 16 matches, with two games a week," added Scope. "It will offer our supporters something fresh and hopefully they will get behind our young players."

"Derek Broadley (BFA technical director) has worked at this level before with PDL team, Reading Rage, and he believes we will be competitive at this level.

"We believe the PDL will be a challenging environment and will stretch and improve our players."

BFA general secretary David Sabir said: "This is a fantastic opportunity to have true preparations for the CAC Games, Pan-Am and Olympic qualifiers.

"The 16 matches will cost a significant less amount of money than if we organised games individually, by ourselves.

"One of the outcomes of this relationship, we envisage, is that our players will gain exposure to other clubs in the USL, MLS or perhaps clubs in Europe, largely because the USL has placed an increased focus on their PDL programme."

Hogges suffered indifferent form in the USL-D2, finishing bottom of the league standings in 2007 and 2009, and second from last in 2008.