RETURN OF THE MASTERS

After a decade away, the iconic six-a-side tournament has made a comeback

- Sam Dalling

Tranmere Rovers, English champions at long last. For those fans present at Liverpool's Echo Arena to witness that historic day in September 2009, the memory will last forever.

A 4-3 win secured in dramatic fashion as the clock ran down. John Achterberg, Ian Muir, Stuart Barlow & Co raising the trophy aloft. No, this wasn't a cheese dream, it was Masters Football.

Back then, the competition was still the talk of the summer. The six-a-side matches were played indoors and only eight minutes per half. Over-35s, legends of the British game and beyond, took part in regional tournaments across the country, followed by a showpiece finale that was attended by thousands and watched by many more at home. What more could punters want?

The year Tranmere ran out unlikely winners was the 10th successive time Sky Sports had covered the tournament. Just 24 months later, though, it was no more. According to Steve Black, the CEO of Masters Global Limited, whispers of dwindling viewership and slowing ticket sales that surfaced after the Masters vanished were completely unfounded.

"Journalists would write, 'Oh, people lost interest,' but that wasn't the truth," Black says now. "The last time we went into Sky, our ratings had doubled from the previous two or three years. Sky took us off for financial reasons. They said, 'We like Masters Football, but we don't want to pay for it anymore.' Obviously that didn't work for us." That was that. The Masters rapidly became nostalgia, the fondness growing with every year.