Kieshon Smith launched a blistering attack on Bermuda’s sporting officials just hours before his side lost their second Caribbean Football Union Club Championship match in Haiti last night.

The Somerset Trojans coach accused those holding the purse strings of not caring about the island’s athletes and said that Haiti’s footballers had better facilities at their disposal, despite the shocking poverty in the country.

Smith also blasted the belief on the island that everyone had to be a “doctor, lawyer, or accountant”, saying that being an athlete “counts for nothing in our country”.

Having lost 5-0 to Don Bosco, a semi-professional side from Haiti on Wednesday, Trojans lost 4-1 yesterday to La Gauloise, of Guadeloupe.

The result ended Somerset’s hopes of advancing to the next phase and Don Bosco will play La Gauloise tomorrow to determine who advances to the final round from group two.

La Gauloise took the lead against Somerset in the nineteenth minute through Sebastian, only to see Trevin Ming, the Somerset captain, draw the Bermuda champions level in the 32nd minute.

A penalty converted by Mocka in the 35th minute put the Guadeloupe champions back in front to stay, before they scored two more goals in the second half, Neil Roche netting in the 61st minute and Muhammed in the 76th.

Before the game at the Stade Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince, Smith told The Royal Gazette that Bermuda needs to do more for football.

“Something that has really upset me is that Bermuda has to invest in its athletes,” Smith said. “I’m in Haiti where people are living in shacks with no clean water, but they have better football facilities than us.

“People want to criticise when we lose, but no one wants to help. These players paid for most of this trip on their own and we are grateful for the help we received from a few sponsors.

“We have a lot of our youth trying to do positive things and get no support. How is it in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, [they] can invest in their youth and have a semi-pro league and Bermuda, one of the richest, don’t?

“Everyone can’t be a lawyer, doctor or work in big business. The Lord created some of us to be athletes, but in our country that means nothing.”

Smith also suggested that players should play on a full-time basis and he called for incentives to be put in place as reward for teams that win titles.

“Part-time can’t beat full-time,” he said. “Clubs don’t just want a motorcade and a party at the end of the season when they win a trophy. The prize money for winning the Premier Division title should not be the same as a team getting relegated — nothing.”

The Trojans, who won a record-tying tenth Premier Division title last season, the club’s first in more than two decades, made their debut this year in the CFU Club Championship, which is a qualifier for the Concacaf Champions League.

It is the first time since 2012 that a Bermudian club has featured in the tournament, North Village being the last.

Smith said he was pleased with his players’ effort in Haiti and reckons that they will benefit from the experience.

“We ran our socks off and represented our club and country well,” he said. “The squad is in great harmony with each other and the camaraderie is something that will carry us a long way after this experience is over.

“Against Don Bosco was a great learning experience for my young team. They made me proud for the way we played.

“Don Bosco’s pro team were real quality — you give respect where respect is due. Their fitness and technical level was very high and playing at high altitude up in the mountains took its toll on our fitness.”

The coach added before last night’s defeat: “We only had one day’s rest before we played La Gauloise; the Fifa rules state that it should be 72 hours. But we have done all we can to try and help our team recover in time to play our final match.”

Somerset return to the island this weekend and are back in action on Monday night when they host Devonshire Cougars.