The Bermuda Football Association President Larry Mussenden has issued a Press Release following Bermuda's exit from the 2018 Russia CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier at the National Sports Center almost two weeks ago.
"The BFA has received some media enquiries in respect of the recent World Cup campaign concerning team accommodation and player conduct.
The BFA made a decision to house the players in a small hotel upon their return from Guatemala on the Saturday night. They would have remained there until Monday late afternoon when they would leave for the NSC. Upon arrival on the late AA flight from Miami, the team was transported from the LF Wade Airport to the hotel. The BFA had made reservations that would have two (2) players to a room. When the team arrived at the hotel, it was discovered that the hotel did not have the required rooms. Alternate arrangements were made at the hotel at that late hour, with extra beds in two rooms, whilst some coaches gave up their rooms so that players could have rooms.
Additionally, the BFA discovered that there were issues with the food service which ultimately led to the pre-match meal being cancelled with alternative arrangements being made at a restaurant in Hamilton.
The BFA then became aware of issues of the conduct of a few players who had females in their rooms on Monday in breach of the expected conduct. As a result of that, the Coach – who had earlier given up his room to players - did leave the hotel early in order to consider how to deal with the issue after which he did join the team at the NSC when we put on a strong display of exciting football against Guatemala.
This week has been set aside for a postmortem of the entire World Cup Campaign were we will be discussing the positives and negatives of the series of matches with a view of establishing ways for improvements. Additionally, we will be addressing the conduct of the few players as mentioned above. We are committed to ensuring the long term goals for the current generation of the senior team are met.
We are deeply upset that Bermuda did not advance to the next round. We are grateful to all the players who gave their utmost to playing for Bermuda. We reiterate that it is an honor to play for Bermuda and to follow in the footsteps of some of the best football players who have played for Bermuda as evidenced by the Guatemala Class of ’67 players who themselves were honored at half-time at the Guatemala match. We are confident that all the players, including the professional ones, will reflect on their individual commitment and dedication to Bermuda, to playing for Bermuda and representing their local clubs that invested so much into them as they grew up playing football in Bermuda. We thank our players and coaching staff. Also, we extend our sincere thanks to the people of Bermuda for all their support during the recent campaign."
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