Bermuda to play England 'C' team

Bermuda’s national football team will take on the England ‘C’ side on June 4 at the National Sports Centre.

The game represents the first time the English representative outfit has toured the island. 

The ‘C’ team is made up of the top players from the non-league tier of English football, with the majority of them, if not all, expected to come from teams in the Conference National, one level below League Two.

The England side will be managed by the current director of football at League two side Barnet, Paul Fairclough, who has also managed the club, as well as Stevenage, during a long coaching career.

The one-off match was arranged at the request of the English FA and, for the home side, will act as an ideal tune-up for the Island Games, while also giving players a chance to test themselves against top non-league players from England.

BFA academy director Richard Todd said manager Andrew Bascome — in his first home game in charge — hopes to select a largely full-strength squad, featuring many of the country’s overseas-based players.

Todd said: “We have a number of our players who have gone overseas to play with non-league teams in England, most recently Antwan Russell in the past week, so I think it will give them a good gauge and a measure of the level of their players.

“It’s a huge opportunity because you never know who’s watching. The biggest thing, though, is for the home crowd, Since the World Cup qualifying we haven’t had a chance to look at the squad. 

“So it will give the public who are curious the chance to look at the team and see some of the changes that have been made.”

BFA president Larry Mussenden said: “This opportunity will provide the Bermuda players with another platform by which they can measure themselves against the elite players from a football powerhouse.

“This match will also provide a true barometer of where their skills and talents are at present and where it needs to be if they have any aspirations of playing at a higher level.”

He added: “We want to extend a huge invitation to the wonderful community we have here in Bermuda and many of the English residents we have here, I’m sure they will be looking forward to supporting the English team. Also, to the many Bermudians who enjoy football — we think we are going to have a fantastic game and we look forward to filling the stadium.”