Our mission statement:

Masters Summer League aims to bring great mental and physical health benefits to men aged 35 and over, by delivering recreational football (soccer) competitions in a format well suited to older players.

It aims to provide a competitive, but friendly and safe environment, in which injury risk is minimised and both experienced and new players feel welcome and comfortable.

It aims to deliver an environment ideal for fostering mateship and bonding between men across all competing teams, breaking down club and team barriers and leading to a unified community of local Masters players.

 

About our competition:

When a Masters (over 35s) soccer competition could not be maintained in the Geelong area by the sport’s governing body, we set up our own Masters tournament as volunteers. Shortened games (60mins), all held at one location each week, with a sponsoring venue attached for gathering afterwards. No slide tackling and emphasis on friendly competition and mateship.

Our revised format attracted 138 players (8 full teams) at the first attempt, where we expected maybe 80.

Our relaxed and flexible format allowed players to fill in for other teams when needed – a popular and useful concept. Along with the sponsoring venue, it led to the players getting to know guys from other teams. We successfully catered for all ages and ability levels.

We held our inaugural tournament in early 2020, which was a great success… cut short by Covid but left the players raving about it and wanting more. The second tournament is being organised currently and will be held in Jan-Mar 2021, with an expanded 10 team format as the popularity grows.

The perpetual trophy is named after a local legend of the game, Everett Nelson.

We hope to bring the concept and its mental and physical health benefits to other regional areas in future.

Co-founders and ongoing organising committee: Barboros Kara, Ross Abraham, Simon Blanch