The Great Game Of Table Football

The popular called table football, better known as, foosball has been around for decades. Countries all over the world have taken a liking to the game.

The first known patent established by an UK Englishman, Harold S Thornton in 1923. Sparking his idea after attending a match, and the experience of the game at home. Uncle, Louis P Thornton, introduced and patented the game in the states in 1927. With not much demand for this game, the patent expired but picked up more interest following the war.

Alejandro Finisterre also intrigued to form a way for children to play soccer who couldn't participate in the actual sport, recruited Fancisco Javier Altuna to build his patent in 1937. The International Table Soccer Federation (ITSF) was established in 2002, promoting as an organizing sports body. Regulating later the International Olympic committee (IOC) as an official reorganized Olympic sport.

Foosball, played internationally has become known greatly. Spanning from the United States to Italy and Turkey to Mexico. In the USA the name of table football and foosball are popular.

Some even known as table soccer. In Italy, its known as calcio balilla or bigliardino or biliardino (from biglia or little ball). Turkey its most popularly known as langirt, spanning back to Mexico known as, futbolito. French-style players making name as babyfoot.

Foosball is played on a table that varies in size, ranging from 120 cm or 4 feet long to 61 cm to 2 feet wide. The table includes eight rows of foosball men that can be made out of plastic, wood, metal and even, at times, carbon-fiber. These figures are then attached to horizontal metal bars.

The game can be played by teams of 1 to 3 people who control four rows of foosmen, or can be played in a team of four known as doubles allowing two people to a team on both sides enabling one player to control the two defensive rows and the other player controlling the midfield and attack rows.

The arrangement of players include, the first and eighth row known as the goal keeper that contains one foosman for each side.The second and seventh row known as the defense containing two foosmen
The third and sixth row known as the opponents attack contains three foosmen for both sides and the fourth and fifth row known as midfield contain five foosmen for both sides

Entering the ball into play by either letting it go into the hole on the side of the table or by placing the ball at the feet of a figure in the midfield. This brings the game into play letting players to use the rotating bar to move the ball to the other end of the table in order to make a goal and score points. The winner is determined by a set amount of point established at the beginning of a game such as, five, ten or eleven points.

Competitions played all over the world, conducted by a number of national organizations with high end regulations and rules. Competitions can be tracked back as far as the 1940's and 1950's in Europe. Money and prizes started as an event in Seattle, Washington by Lee Peppard announcing the uarter million dollar tour in 1975.

Going out of business in 1981, many others have picked up continue the flow of competitions and events. The ITSF being one of them, allowing international events such as yearly world champions and world cup to assist with the FIFA world cup every fourth year.

Foosball has maintained the interest of many and will be around for years to come so pick up a ball and set it into play and be the next best at foosball.