Masters football returns to England this week after making a comeback in 2022, and will feature some names just as legendary as when the fan-favourite six-a-side competition began 25 years ago
Masters football is back, and the popular six-a-side competition returns with a host of legends in tow. The format debuted in 2000 and made a comeback three years ago after an 11-year break.
Fans eagerly awaited the homecoming of national Masters football in 2022, with it developing a die-hard following during its decade-long stint on Sky Sports. The annual tournament, developed at the turn of the millennium, pitted teams of ex-players over the age of 35 against one another in fast-paced, indoor settings.
Games were played in two halves of eight minutes, and the pitch was just 60m by 30m, the same size as an indoor ice hockey rink. Round-robin events were contested over one evening, with the two top teams going head to head in a grand final.
Although Masters football graced our screens in 2022, it has been limited to Scotland since then. But now, on September 5, it returns to Manchester with Louis Saha, Emile Heskey and Joleon Lescott set to feature. However, these events have long attracted big-name players, and Mirror Football looks at some of the stars who have graced Masters football over the years.
Ian Wright
Wright first appeared on Masters football in 2000, playing for Arsenal against Liverpool, Rangers, Aberdeen, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday. The England icon had only just hung up his boots when he was selected for the inaugural tournament.
From 2000, Wright, who starred for Crystal Palace and the Gunners, has forayed into television, often appearing on Match of the Day and on punditry duties for the BBC and formerly BT Sport.
Just last year, in an indirect ode to his Masters football past, he became a manager in the Baller League, a similar six-a-side indoor competition.
John Barnes
Liverpool icon Barnes was another who debuted along with the event itself in 2000, playing for the Reds. At this stage, Barnes was one year out of retirement, having last played for Charlton Athletic.
He would go on to feature multiple times at Masters football, including in 2006, when team-mate John Durnin grabbed the Golden Boot award.
Barnes played over 400 times for Liverpool after moving to Anfield from Watford and scored 107 goals. He signed for Newcastle United before calling it quits and is another who can often be seen on our screens as a guest or pundit.
Ian Rush
Rush was team-mates with Barnes in 2000, and he featured regularly in the competition for the Reds, who were named champions in 2001 and 2002.
The Welshman also represented his country at the International Masters football, where he and Wales won the first two tournaments ever held in 1999 and 2000.
Across two spells with Liverpool, Rush became the club’s all-time top goal scorer with 346 in 660 appearances. His 44 FA Cup goals for the Reds is a 20th-century record, and he is still an ambassador for the club as well as an advisor for the Football Association of Wales.
Ally McCoist
McCoist, whose voice is now commonplace on TNT Sports when European football rolls around, won the Golden Boot at the inaugural Masters football. His Rangers side made the grand final too, only to be bested by Forest.
Rangers did, however, win two Masters football crowns in 2006 and the final staging of the National Masters in 2011. McCoist played second fiddle again in 2003 when his side were beaten by Manchester City.
Like Rush, McCoist is the all-time top goalscorer for the club he represented at Masters football. He scored 355 goals for Rangers in 15 years, winning nine successive Scottish league championships from 1988 to 1997. The 62-year-old first started commentating for TNT in 2023 and is now one of football’s most revered pundits.
Jamie Carragher
While Liverpool icon Carragher retired in 2013, two years after the final staging of the National Masters, he was present when the tournament returned after an 11-year hiatus in 2022.
Carragher played for Liverpool alongside Steve McManaman in Glasgow, where the Reds took on representatives of Manchester United, Celtic and Rangers. In the grand final, they faced old rivals United, and Carragher was victorious, beating the Red Devils 5-3 to lift the Masters Cup Trophy.
One club man, Carragher, joined Sky Sports soon after his retirement and hasn’t looked back, becoming one of their most trusted pundits and commentators. He also stars for CBS Sports, which provides US-based coverage of European football.
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