ON Tuesday night Dandy Town celebrated another Dudley Eve title. Less than 24 hours later the mood was more sombre.

The same players and coaches gathered at Christ Church in Devonshire to pay their last respects to fallen team-mate Machai Campbell, the last statistic of a devastating year on the roads – the 17th victim of motorbike madness.

Campbell was the second footballer to die in a traffic accident in the space of a couple of weeks and just one of many players who have suffered the same fate.

Police Commissioner George Jackson's son, Prospect's Andrew Jackson, was killed in similar fashion – he was the third Prospect player whose life has been lost on the roads in the past seven years.

Sadly, footballers' funerals have become all too common on the BFA calendar. Not that the governing body nor the clubs can do an awful lot about how their young players, many in their teens or early 20s, lead their lives off the field.

And inquests might show that those killed were the victims of other cyclists' disrespect for the rules of the road.

But there are no yellow or red cards for poor judgment or rash decisions. The consequences are far more serious.

We hoped that message had been driven home years ago. Apparently it hasn't.

With so many in the football family left mourning the death of their colleagues, maybe the clubs could now play their part in road safety programmes.

Indeed, Western Stars Sports Club president Nathan Richardson urged at Wednesday's funeral: "We need to take our time on Bermuda's roads and ride defensively."

Perhaps other presidents, coaches and skippers could lead by example, driving home the message that league and cup titles are important but life is far more precious.

They can't control their players' lives but by taking a prominent role in the road safety campaign they could make a difference, heightening young players' awareness and even imposing their own penalties for those brought before the courts for speeding or dangerous driving.

Would that make a difference? Who knows?

It's a small step.

But only a community commitment will prevent the tragic events of 2008. And football remains a prominent and influential part of that community.

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ST. GEORGE'S coach Kenny Bascome argued that the timing of Tuesday's Dudley Eve First Division final against Somerset could indirectly have led to more accidents on the road.

Because of a 7 p.m. kick-off, players from the East End had to leave work early and weave their way through rush-hour traffic in order to make the game in time.

It's an issue worthy of debate.

But it has also been questioned why the game was played at Somerset on a Tuesday night, giving the Trojans home field advantage.

Why weren't the two finals played on Sunday when no Premier games were scheduled? And why wasn't the National Sports Centre, as a neutral venue, deemed more suitable?

Those arguments are difficult to dismiss.

Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, in his autobiography, described the NSC pitch as the best he had ever played on. Other pros have voiced the same opinion.

Yet strangely for reasons unknown it's rarely used, not even for a Dudley Eve Cup final.

Perhaps the BFA executive could offer an explanation.

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BERMUDA Cricket Board announced this week that the majority of the squad preparing for the World Cup qualifiers in South Africa in April had signed full-time contracts. And that certainly demonstrated their commitment to the daunting task that lies ahead.

Now those players have to demonstrate the same commitment, behaving like professionals both on and off the field.

There are many in the squad, skipper Irving Romaine being a prime example, who in the past have never wavered from that responsibility.

Some, however, haven't.

The whole of Bermuda, the media included, want Gus Logie's team to emerge from the South Africa qualifiers as they did from the Ireland tournament four years ago.

But as pros, the players will have to realise they will be under the microscope.

– ADRIAN ROBSON