MASTERS football returns to our TV screens this year, with a host of past players taking to the iconic blue pitch once again.
Glasgow will host the fan-favourite Masters tournament on July 8, production company 360 Sports TV has confirmed.
Four teams have already agreed to participate: Liverpool, Manchester United, Rangers and Celtic.
Despite not yet being confirmed, Cardiff have been regulars of the tournament in previous years.
Fans are now speculating which players could be involved.
Luke Jones, 34, from Caerphilly, said: “I would love to see Rhys Weston in the team, he was always one of my favourite players to watch and always gave 100% on the field!”
Mozwyn Morris, a Cardiff fan now living in Dublin, said: “I would like to see Super Kevin McNaughton and Charlie Oatway in the team.”
To qualify, players must be over the age of 35, be retired from professional football, and have represented their team professionally in the past.
The competition is 6-a-side and players from various EFL, Premier League and Scottish League clubs take part.
Games will be played over two eight-minute halves in a round-robin format. The competition ran from 2000-2011, taking place between June and July.
In a press release this week, 360 Sports TV said: “The iconic football tournament, Masters Football, is coming back to our screens by popular demand after an 11-year absence.
“The star-studded six-a-side event is expected to feature ex-internationals like Paul Scholes, Steve McManaman, Michael Mols and Wes Brown.”
In the 2008 Welsh Masters, Cardiff’s team featured club legends such as: Andy Legg, Jason Bowen and Gavin Ward.
Former Arsenal player Tony Woodcock, director and co-founder of 360 Sports, said: “It just feels fantastic to bring Masters football back to life.
“It has real history and there’s been a tremendous buzz over social media recently with petitions to revive the tournament.”
In 2011, Glasgow Rangers won what would prove to be the final tournament for over 10 years.
Here’s how we think the bluebirds could line-up, head here to have your say:
Potential line-up (2-2-1):
First up, between the sticks we could see the return of Neil Alexander. The 43-year-old made 213 appearances for the Bluebirds from 2001-2007, after joining Cardiff from Scottish club Livingston for £130,000.
During his time in South Wales, he helped Cardiff achieve promotion to the old First Division through the 2003 Play Off Final.
After starting his career at West Brom, 42-year-old Gabbidon’s spell at Cardiff lasted five years from 2000-2005, making 193 appearances and scoring 10 goals.
He returned to Cardiff in 2014, but made just one appearance, in what turned out to be his final professional game.
Versatile Scottish defender Kevin McNaughton is next up on our list, with a Cardiff career that spanned 9 years.
In that time, McNaughton made 289 appearances for the Bluebirds. The 39-year-old fans favourite would be a popular addition to the Masters team.
After making 78 appearances for Wales and scoring 19 goals, ex-Cardiff and Liverpool midfielder Craig Bellamy must be part of our starting six.
The 42-year-old Bellamy’s illustrious career spanned over 18 years from 1996-2014, with a string of topflight clubs under his belt. Fans can only hope he will choose Cardiff if the Masters call came – because he’s got a lot of options.
After coming through Cardiff’s youth set up, Joe Ledley went on to get 77 Wales caps, and represent Cardiff 229 times. Ledley was also in the Welsh squad that reached the semi-final of Euro 2016.
Only just qualifying for the tournament at 35, Ledley would be able to add some relative youth and flair to a City side.
Finally, leading the line we see Robert Earnshaw. Another Wales regular, Earnshaw scored over 100 goals for Cardiff over two spells.
The 40-year-old Earnshaw started his career at Cardiff in 1998 and returned to his boyhood club from Nottingham Forest in 2008.
With just six spots available in our team, let us know who you think we might have missed using our Twitter post above.
