Kyle Lightbourne has been appointed as caretaker coach of the Bermuda football team for the international friendly match at home to Barbados next month.

“Kyle Lightbourne has been selected as the senior national coach on an interim basis, which will take us through the Barbados match,” Maurice Lowe, the Bermuda Football Association development director, confirmed.

“Then we are going to take the opportunity to review the senior national team structure with the view of the Concacaf League of Nations competitions, which are coming up in 2018 and beyond.”

As part of Concacaf’s proposed League of Nations, which may be launched by the end of the year, Bermuda could play up to 36 matches over the course of a four-year cycle.

That would represent a seismic shift for the Gombey Warriors, who have historically struggled for games and played only two games this year — a 4-2 defeat at home to Canada in January and a 2-1 victory away to Grenada in June.

Bermuda will host Barbados at the National Stadium on October 28, with an 8pm kick-off.

They will then face Barbados away in 2018 as part of a home-and-home arrangement between the associations.

Barbados last visited the island in June 2008, when Bermuda won 3-0, with Keishen Bean scoring twice and John-Barry Nusum, the present Bermuda Under-15 and Robin Hood coach, the other.

The match next month will be the sixth meeting between the countries, who have each won twice with one draw.

The Bermuda position became vacant after the resignation of Andrew Bascome last month.

Bascome took charge of the Gombey Warriors in 14 matches, winning seven, losing six and drawing one.

Lightbourne served as Bascome’s assistant coach for the past 12 months, as well as leading the Bermuda Under-20 side to the finals of the Concacaf Championship in Costa Rica in February.

The former Coventry City striker was approached by the BFA about the vacant position, which he is keen on serving again, having done so from 2005 to 2007.

Asked how many candidates have applied for the vacant position, Lowe said: “That will be a part of us selecting the coach for 2018 and beyond, so we are not in the candidate stage right now.

“Kyle is already a staff coach and he is highly qualified and highly experienced.

“He took the team on an interim basis last year for a certain period, so he’s just continuing on in that capacity as a staff coach.”