The Bali Masters 9’s kicked off in 2005 as the first over-35s tournament in Asia. That inaugural competition, held at the Samudra ground in Kuta, featured just three teams. The South Coast Buccaneers and the Singapore Wombats traveled to Bali to challenge the local Geckos, and from that moment on, they became loyal supporters of the tournament.

It didn’t take long for the appeal of Masters footy in Bali to spread, attracting more and more clubs eager to take part. With this surge in popularity, we soon outgrew a single-day format. After relocating to the Canggu Country Club, we took a bold step—expanding the tournament to two days. There were some doubts. Could footballers over 35 handle back-to-back days of competition? The answer was a resounding Yes!

As the tournament continued to evolve, new age groups were introduced, and the event expanded to three days. The first day of qualifying was split across two grounds to accommodate the growing number of teams.
The biggest year to date was 2019, when a record-breaking 47 teams took the field. If not for the disruption of the global pandemic in 2020, we would likely have surpassed 50 by now.

Today, we have two fields running side by side and expect over 40 teams to battle it out across two days of intense competition. A third day remains in reserve, ready to accommodate even more teams as the tournament continues to thrive. Participants will play in three age divisions: over 35s, over 45s and over 55s. There may even be an exhibition game of over 65s should numbers allow.