Sport as a Bridge for Community Building

Sport has always been more than just physical activity. It creates opportunities for people to connect, build friendships, develop teamwork, and strengthen a sense of community. Recognizing this, Ubud Hotels Association (UHA) has introduced UHA Fun Mini Soccer, a recurring sports initiative designed to bring UHA members together through friendly football and healthy activity.

Organized under UHA’s Sport & Culture area, the program is open to all UHA member properties and their teams. It provides an informal space where colleagues from different hotels and accommodation businesses across Ubud can meet outside their usual working environment, enjoy a game together, and build stronger relationships within the hospitality community.

Connecting More Than 9,000 Hospitality Professionals

UHA represents a community with more than 9,000 employees working across its member properties. With such a large hospitality workforce, creating opportunities for members to interact beyond professional meetings and industry programs is an important part of strengthening the association.

UHA Fun Mini Soccer is designed around this idea.

On the field, professional titles and departmental responsibilities become less important. General managers, supervisors, front office teams, food and beverage staff, engineering teams, sales and marketing professionals, and other hospitality colleagues can come together as teammates and opponents in a relaxed environment.

The objective is simple: play, connect, and enjoy time together.

Through regular participation, the program is expected to help create new friendships and strengthen relationships between UHA member properties. These connections can ultimately contribute to a stronger sense of community across the hospitality industry in Ubud.

Playing Every Second and Fourth Friday

UHA Fun Mini Soccer is held regularly on the second and fourth Friday of every month, creating a consistent opportunity for members to participate throughout the year.

The sessions take place at Gianyar Arena Mini Soccer, providing a dedicated space for members to enjoy the game in a casual and energetic atmosphere.

The recurring schedule is intentional. Rather than being a one-time sporting event, UHA wants mini soccer to become part of the regular rhythm of UHA activities.

Members can plan ahead, form teams with colleagues, and make Friday football a regular part of their month. The consistency also allows relationships to develop naturally over time as participants meet the same people, welcome new players, and gradually build a wider network across UHA.

Open to All UHA Members

One of the key principles of UHA Fun Mini Soccer is that the program is open to all UHA members.

Participants do not need to be professional football players. The focus at this stage is not on competition or winning, but on participation, fitness, friendship, and community.

This makes the program accessible to employees with different levels of sporting experience. For some, it may be an opportunity to return to a sport they enjoyed growing up. For others, it may simply be a chance to exercise after a busy working week while meeting colleagues from other properties.

The inclusive nature of the program is particularly important in hospitality, where teamwork is already at the heart of daily operations. Mini soccer offers another environment in which those same values can be experienced in a more informal setting.

From Fun Sessions to Future Competition

At its current stage, the initiative remains deliberately simple: UHA Fun Mini Soccer.

The program is intended to first build participation and establish interest among UHA members. If the number of participants and teams continues to grow, UHA plans to explore the possibility of developing the activity into a more structured UHA Mini Soccer Competition in the future.

This approach allows the program to grow organically.

Rather than beginning with a large-scale tournament structure, UHA is creating a foundation through regular friendly sessions. As more members become involved and teams begin to form, there may be an opportunity to introduce competition formats, standings, tournaments, and other activities.

The future development of the program will ultimately depend on the enthusiasm and participation of UHA members.

An Initiative from UHA Chairman

The UHA Fun Mini Soccer initiative was initiated by Putu Surya, Chairman of Ubud Hotels Association, as part of a broader effort to create more opportunities for UHA members to connect through activities beyond the traditional hospitality and business environment.

The initiative reflects the belief that an association becomes stronger when its members have opportunities not only to work together, but also to build genuine relationships.

For UHA, community building is an ongoing process. Industry meetings, training programs, networking sessions, cultural activities, and sporting programs each contribute in different ways to bringing members closer together.

UHA Fun Mini Soccer adds another dimension to that effort.

More Than Football

Ultimately, UHA Fun Mini Soccer is not really about football alone.

It is about creating a space where hospitality professionals can step away from their daily responsibilities, get active, meet colleagues, and enjoy a shared experience.

In an industry built around people, strong relationships matter. A friendly game can be a simple starting point for conversations, friendships, collaboration, and a stronger sense of belonging within the UHA community.

As the program continues every second and fourth Friday at Gianyar Arena Mini Soccer, UHA hopes more member properties and employees will take part.

For now, the goal remains straightforward: come together, get active, have fun, and build stronger connections across UHA.

And perhaps, as participation grows, these Friday sessions will become the beginning of something bigger — a future UHA Mini Soccer Competition built by and for the UHA community.