Former Nigeria women's national team coach Sam Okpodu will be recommending Bermuda's top crop of players for the much anticipated Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league.

Okpodu, who had brief stints as a player at Coventry City and Swindon Town in the UK, spent last week coaching female players of all ages at T.N. Tatem Middle School as part of Bermuda Football Association's (BFA) 'Girls Play Too' football camp.

The ex-Super Eagles international now believes the Island's best players, such as Lady Cougars' Tiffany Swan, can become WPS professionals when the league is officially launched in the US early next year.

"I've been asked to look for star players for the Women's Professional Soccer league," said US-based Okpodu who coached the Virginia Tech women's team for 10 seasons.

"So far I've been in contact with girls in Sweden, back in Nigeria and now I've seen a few girls in Bermuda I'll be recommending some to play in the league next season.

"The opportunities for women footballers right now is incredible and they just have to go out there and take it. The women's game is going to get better now FIFA have made it a priority – it's here to stay and there's money in it now."

Bermuda national team assistant coach Richard Todd invited Okpodu to attend the camp where he conducted a women's football coaching symposium for coaches involved in the domestic league.

With the BFA aiming to establish a full range of youth leagues in the future, Okpodu is confident the women's national team can become a powerhouse in the Caribbean region.

"I think the main problem in Bermuda is the number of girls playing football," he said.

"In America participation is very high so the standard is very high also. But I've been extremely impressed with the quality of the girls in Bermuda and the key factor is now to grow the numbers.

"Through the Girls Play Too programme, Richard (Todd) is trying to increase participation and I'm glad to be able to help kick-start the programme. I think Bermuda can rule the Caribbean region and really make themselves known."

Girls Play Too coordinator Todd will present a report on the camp to the BFA and he believes the coaching sessions have provided him with a "good barometer" of the overall standard of women's football in Bermuda.

"For me the most encouraging part of the camp was being able to work with female players from five years-old right up to the national level," said Todd.

"We were very impressed with the Under-15 age group in terms of their creativity. I'm now looking at running a 10-12 week pilot scheme of coaching sessions for young female players in the winter."

The WPS league will replace the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), which folded after the 2003 season. It will field teams in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis and Washington in 2009 and will add Philadelphia for 2010.

** A team of Bermuda's future football stars were knocked out of the Schwan's USA Cup at the play-off stage, losing 2-1 to Westside Reds in Minnesota on Friday.

The Bermuda Gombey Warriors, who used the competition as a warm-up for their Under-17 World Cup qualifiers in Trinidad, had finished runners-up in the tournament's weekend Cup event.

National team Under-17s assistant coach Ray Jones and Bermuda Football Association (BFA) technical director Derek Broadley accompanied the team in the US.