The 25-year-old pivot banged in eight goals and collected all the big awards at the Oceania Football Confederation Futsal Cup tournament in Fiji last week.
You might say the driving instructor gave his opponents a free lesson, but on the court rather than the road.
He won the Golden Ball award for the best player at the tournament, and also claimed the Golden Boot.
More importantly, he scored a hat-trick in the final to help power New Zealand to a 6-2 win over the Solomon Islands.
What makes his achievement so remarkable is it was his rookie season for the Futsal Whites.
"It was quite surreal in the moment," Ali said.
"Looking back, it is still a bit surreal. But I put in a lot of work and a lot of effort, so I kind of feel like all my hard work really paid off."
There is more hard work on the horizon.
Ali has played football for Mosgiel but put aside the outdoor game this year to focus on his futsal aspirations.
He was doing a lot of travelling to train with the Futsal Whites and felt like he had to make a choice.
Now the goal posts have shifted further. He is very keen to help New Zealand qualify for the next World Cup, which will be held in 2024.
The Dunedin-born businessman has also made the decision to sell his driving school and move to Australia.
"I’ll be playing futsal and some football there as well, but I think it is just time for a change," he said.
Ali will commute to New Zealand for training and tournaments with the Futsal Whites.
"Basically, everything we are doing now is leading up to the World Cup qualifiers which are in October next year."
The Futsal Whites will play more or less the same sides they faced in Fiji.
The Solomon Islands has dominated the Oceania Confederation in recent years.
New Zealand’s win over the Solomon Islands in the final was its first against the nation since 2013.
"It was actually quite a big achievement to beat them so convincingly."
Ali was joined in the Futsal Whites by Dunedin City Royals midfielder Oban Hawkins.
Hawkins got sick and missed the final.
"He didn’t get to play and celebrate with us, which was pretty disappointing for him. But he had a good tournament as well."
