Bermuda Football Association (BFA) have pulled the plug on the Player Development League (PDL) midway through its first season after admitting the experiment has not worked.

Due to the amount of unfulfilled fixtures that cannot be crammed in before the end of the term, the BFA have made a decision to cancel the league immediately instead of allowing it to splutter along until the end of the season.

There are no plans, however, to disband the league permanently although the BFA accepts the PDL has failed to "meet the intended objective and expectations of the players and coaches".

The league had been designed to give those players not quite ready to break into first team football, aged between 18-23, a competitive avenue to continue their development rather than drop out of the game completely.

But 30 games remain unplayed on the fixture list while numerous matches are still outstanding because teams have been unable to field 11 players.

A BFA statement read: "While we had hoped that the league would have flourished beyond all expectations the realities are that the challenges have forced the Competitions Committee to reassess the PDL for next season.

"While there are no plans to disband the PDL there is no question that we need to address these challenges together with the participating clubs to ensure that we present a viable structure..."

Anti-social behaviour has also blighted the PDL this campaign with the BFA postponing matches back in October after a taxi carrying Boulevard players was attacked by a mob wielding an assortment of weapons.

Following that incident, the BFA made a passionate plea to the community to play their part in eradicating the Island's anti-social behaviour.

The eight league clubs will now compete for the PDL Martonmere Cup with the round-robin group matches starting tomorrow. The final will be played on Saturday, April 17 at the National Sports Centre.

In an interview with The Royal Gazette last week, youth director Devarr Boyles said the PDL needed to be viewed as a long term project and hit out at some clubs for not valuing youth football enough.

"We thought if the PDL could operate for players aged between 17 and 23, and if the clubs could ensure that two quarters of the team were aged under 23, then that would help bridge that gap between youth football and senior football," said Boyles.

"Players like Jason Lee, Troy Tucker and Quadir Maynard are doing really well in the Premier Division. They were the standout players in the Under-16 league last season, but where are the rest of them? That's what we're hoping the PDL will address.

"In my opinion some clubs don't value youth football, whereas some clubs do a good job. If their youth academy is producing a player each year for the senior team then I think their programme works.

If they are not, and they still need to buy themselves more time, then there's the PDL That's what it's there for."

"It has to be a long-term programme, there's nothing short-term about it."

Tomorrow's PDL Martonmere Cup match sees St. David's face Dandy Town at BFA Field at 7 p.m.