There's very little known about Bermuda in a lot of respects when it concerns their new entrant to the USL D2. The known quantities are easy to list off. They have the backing of their football association, former Premier League player, Shaun Goater, is involved and the team is being looked at favorably by those in the soccer community on the island.
The biggest attraction for visiting fans, of course, is that it is Bermuda and road trips to see this team against yours or just to investigate the level of play from the Bermudans on their home field sounds like fun. I know I would not mind the trip and have actually looked at it semi-seriously on a few occasions since the announcement. Unfortunately, I do not know whether we can expect to see too many opposing fans from the USL D2 making the trip. If any of you do, however, and you can get a good group rate drop me a line.
One big positive for the sporting community in Bermuda seems to be that this is a professional option for a larger number of the nation's players than what they had seen before. This avenue gives this club team the opportunity to strengthen their national side by giving many of the players that would make up that squad more than ample time playing together. There is also the valuable experience of playing against a much higher level of consistent competition than might have been the standard previously for opponents of the Bermudans.
Combining the USL team and their counterparts in a new six-a-side league, the ISL, on the island means more competitive soccer for Bermuda translating into a higher level of play from their national team. If Bermuda improves its national program it should lead to some of the other Caribbean nations raising the level of their game. If the Caribbean improves so then should CONCACAF and the more competitive the region is the stronger the representatives for the World Cup will be. Call it a little trickle down soccernomics if you will.
Another interesting aspect for analysis of this club and its entry into the USL is how they will manage to juggle finances as well as compete on the field up to the level of their opponents. The average audience probably won't know much at all about Bermuda when they visit their team during the season so it will be intriguing to watch impressions from those around the league. The finances for running an off-shore soccer venture such as this have to be strenuously complex in making it stretch over the course of a season. The financial pressures will be keen as the team hopes to bring in adequate numbers of fans at home to offset what likely will be a massive travel budget. The sheer math of the situation seems dating but hopefully the product on the field will be a success that leads to further gains off the field.
All in all, we are on the threshold of a very interesting experiment in league and world soccer. If Bermuda can follow up Puerto Rico's apparent success this opens up other island nations to the prospect of the USL. More pro opportunities for those nations and higher opposition for everyone should, could and maybe would mean more fun for everyone from the national teams down to the fans. We shall see where all of this leads but it should make for an intriguing tale to tell no matter how it turns out. Now, where did I put my ginger beer and rum?
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