Having been in existence for a quarter of a century and currently having 200 players registered on its books, it’s safe to say the Maccabi Masters Football League (MMFL) continues to go from strength to strength.
January 15, 2025 09:09
ByMaccabi GB, Andrew Sherwood
The brainchild of Stuart Lustigman, the MMFL provides full 11-a-side competitive men's games with accredited referees, the fixtures played on 4G pitches at Herts University Sports Centre in Hatfield and Parmiter's School, near Watford.
As well as founding the League, Lustigman was chairman for the first 20 years of its existence, with David Jacobs holding the role for the most recent five years.
Simon Black replaced Jacobs last summer and is hoping to oversee further growth in the League. Explaining why he feels its popularity has soared over the past 25 years, he says: “Almost everyone that tries Masters football loves it and stays with it. It’s competitive, well-organised, social, and it’s real football. And the more you play, the longer you stay in good shape and the longer you can keep playing.”
The League was set up to offer football for men of a certain age and Black believes it has achieved its objective. “Since its formation, we have given the opportunity for around 1,000 players to get the stimulation and health and social benefits from playing competitive sport, while at the same time giving them another connection to the Jewish community”, Black says.
“The League has also been a platform for many rep teams playing in Maccabiah Games in Israel and Pan American games. For next year’s Maccabiah in Israel, the Team Maccabiah GB over 55 trials had more than 50 players trying out. The League has been a great success, but I still think it’s a well-kept secret – I think many over 40 players would get involved if they knew about it.”
Currently open to players age 45+ (though this is dropping to 40+ next summer), the League also forms the basis of the 60+ Maccabiah squad, which has also played against England 60+ and entered national 60+ competitions.
Black’s involvement with the League started in the 2011/2012 season when he started playing for Hendon Harriers. Winning silverware with London Maccabi Lions over eight seasons, he’s currently enjoying his fourth season with Temple Fortune, one of the league’s founding clubs, whom he also manages. “I moved to Temple Fortune for a new challenge and to be part of a team rebuild to help make the League more competitive”, he says. “It’s that same motivation that led to me accepting the role of Chairman – to give something back by helping develop the League so that it can serve more players and be well positioned for the next 25 years.”
Following in the footsteps of Lustigman and Jacobs, Black says: “The League owes a huge amount to both men. There is also a lot of work done that is often unseen by the Management Committee, the long serving members of the Committee are the pillars that keep the league functioning; Vice-chair Ian Leader who also manages EHRS and the over 60s Rep Team, Registration Secretary Jem Silverstone, Fixtures and Referees Secretary David Goldberg, Treasurer Stephen Levy and Simon Barr, who joined as League Secretary last summer.”
One of the changes that the League has enforced since Black took over is dropping the age of players who can participate in the League to over 40. Explaining the decision, he says: “The age level has moved around over the years and is currently 45+. Our mission is to offer playing opportunities to as many of the community's older players as possible. The Maccabi GB Southern Football League (MGBSFL) is a great institution for the community and a lot of players keep going into their mid to late thirties. But then there's a void which we need to fill. Maximising competitive matches across teams with disparate age profiles is important and we will adapt as needed. For example, this season each of the eight teams played each other once and now split into two divisions of the top four and bottom four.”
In addition to the eight-team league format, there are also two cup tournaments. The Nathan Horwitz Cup, which is sponsored by Barnett Horwitz in memory of his late father, is open for all clubs to enter, with The Jack Morgan Trophy for the MMFL Plate, sponsored by Grant Morgan in memory of his late son, is an opportunity for those teams not at the very top of the league to have a competitive cup experience.
While the focus of the League is on a Sunday morning, a Rep Team has taken part in a recent National Over 65’s 7-a-side tournament, the Masters side reaching the semi-finals of the 2023 tournament, before in Black’s words ‘being knocked out by a last-minute dodgy penalty’.
The past couple of years has also seen their over-55 side compete in the Home Nations tournament, with them beating England’s over-55 side 4-1 last September. Gideon Barnett, who scored twice in that victory, was then chosen to represent England over 55, while Ian Sassoon has represented England over 60’s, Ian Leader and Steve Krieger, England over 65’s and only last October, Tony Platman represented England over 70’s in the World Cup in Cardiff.
Looking to attract more players to the League, Black describes the standard of football as being ‘fiercely competitive’. He says: “The players give everything each match, they relish the privilege to still be getting on the pitch but they are not there just for their health – they want to win! The competitive spirit starts with the managers, guys who give up their time to organise their teams, deal with the admin, and get a squad out each Sunday.”
As to what the League can offer to anyone interested in taking part in it, he adds: “Most of us lead busy stressful lives. When you get on the pitch in competitive 11-a-side football, you cannot think about anything else. It tests your physicality, your skill, your brain – you have to think about your position, the team shape, how to be open for the ball etc. The games are on top quality pitches, games are rarely called off, and we have a roster of accredited referees. This is so far above the 5-a-side games many 40+ players fall into.”
The latest round of action on Sunday morning saw a first league win of the season for Glenthorne. In the first match in the new Division Two of the split league, Gary Adams bagged a hat-trick as they beat Hendon Harriers 3-1, Sacha Alter scored for Harriers.
There were also two matches played in the Nathan Horwitz Cup. John Isaacs netted four times to give Brady a 5-2 win over St John’s Wood Tigers, with Gavin Sherman also on target. Andy Miller replying with a brace for Tigers. The other tie saw League Chairman Simon Black score the only goal of the game as Temple Fortune beat EHRS 1-0, the player-manager scoring with a strike from the edge of the box.
Inviting new teams to join the League for the new 2025/26 season starting in September, anyone interested in doing so, or if an individual player wants help connecting with a team looking for players, contact Simon or any of the Committee at: https://www.mmfl.org.uk/committee.html