The authorities in Cuba have agreed to allow a fourth division football team from Germany to sign up almost the entire Cuban national squad.

The fifteen players all over twenty-five will go to the club, Bonner SC, at the end of January under a cooperation agreement.

Cuba's Communist Party newspaper, Granma, said the Germans, who are aiming for promotion, had clearly been impressed by the speed and explosiveness of Caribbean footballers.

But correspondents say that while Cuba has produced world-class athletes, boxers and baseball players, its footballing record is poor.