England to bid to host Subbuteo World Cup in 2024 - over 50 years since the inaugural tournament

The table football game has been a popular hit for over 75 years, and the World Cup of Subbuteo could be on its way to England
Kick off in a Subbuteo fixture Kick off in a Subbuteo fixture
Kick off in a Subbuteo fixture

Football of the table top variety may be on its way home, after it was revealed that the English Subbuteo Association is hoping to host the Table Football World Cup.

Or to give it its full name, the Federation of International Sports Table Football (FISTF) World Cup.

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The tournament was due to take place last year in Rome, Italy, but was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This will now take place later this year.

What’s been said about the England bid?

According to Haverhill Subbuteo Club member Gerry Harrington, during an interview with Talksport, the English Subbuteo Association is to bid for the 2024 tournament.

He said: “Normally the World Cups are held on the continent. But buoyed by how this has mushroomed so much and the coverage we have got from the media we feel confident we are going to go for England 2024.

“It’s coming home!”

The FISTF World Cup has various categories according to the site Subbuteo.online.

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The tournament has categories for young players, a single player tournament, a team World Cup and a veterans tournament.

It has been over 50 years since the first Subbuteo World Cup, which took place in the Savoy Hotel in London in 1970.

What is Subbuteo?

For those who’ve never had the pleasure of trying it, Subbuteo is a table top football game, where you can move your players by flicking them towards the ball and moving towards the opposition goal.

The players are each on a smooth base which helps them to glide across the pitch.

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Goalkeepers are operated by using a rod attached to them to deflect away shots from opposition players.

The rules of SubbuteoThe rules of Subbuteo
The rules of Subbuteo

According to the official Subbuteo website, the game was created by Peter Adolph in 1946 and the first Subbuteo set contained goals made of wire with paper nets, a ball and cardboard playing figures on bases made from buttons weighed down with lead washers.

These initial figures were made from flat cardboard, known later to collectors as “flats”.

Both chalk and instructions were included in the set to mark out the pitch.

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In 1961 Adolph introduced a three-dimensional hand painted plastic figure and after several design modifications, this figure evolved into the classic “heavyweight” player. In 1980 the new lightweight figure was introduced.

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