The Scottish Subbuteo season 2021/22 opened up with the Scottish Cup in Glasgow on the 29th of August.
The event was attended by 15 players who competed in a Swiss-system Tournament.

Each player played four rounds, with Tom Burns and Gareth Christie both with the possibility of winning going into the final round of games.
However, after Tom Burns secured a point against former champion, Malcolm Lees, that left Gareth Christie requiring to win with a large goal difference against Steve Bennett.
Although winning 2-1, Gareth’s efforts were not enough, and Tom Burns of Glasgow TSA was declared as the overall winner of the day.
Everyone was happy to be back playing after over a year and a half without competitive play in Scotland, with all looking forward to the first of the National Qualifiers in October.
List of participants (Scottish unless noted)
Baver Bari (GTSA)
David Baxter (DUTFC)
Steve Bennett (DUTFC)
Tom Burns (GTSA)
Gareth Christie (DUTFC)
Dave Gladman (GTSA)
John Halpin (GTSA)
Malcolm Lees (GTSA)
Ronnie McKenzie (GTSA)
Oriano Micheletti (ITA, SC Pantere Lucca)
Dave Minty (DUTFC)
Brian Spoors (GTSA)
Gary Stewart (DUTFC)
Craig Thom (DUTFC)

Continuing in our theme of activities and promotions around the world, we’re showcasing the work in Greece of the Flaming Flickers.
“The Flaming Flickers Juniors have been part of the club since 2013, introducing the game to young players of all ages and both sexes,” said club organiser Panagiotis Panagiotidis.
“A lot of them have continued on, and had good results in FISTF tournaments,” Panos said.
“At the recent Major of Athens 2021, the Under 12 winner was Max DiMaggio, one of the young stars among the others,” he said. 

Maximos Di Maggio Winner U12

The club also has a dedicated youth coach, Dimitris Dimopoulos, and they had always received fantastic support from Daniel Scheen and Tchaaa4.

Coach Dimitris Dimopoulos

Recently they staged a special kids event to coincide with the Euro2020 football event. 
“We combined skills games like shooting at targets, precision flicking, controlling the ball from long distances, and penalty shootouts, and they received Panini stickers for their albums, and then had a tournament choosing Euro2020 teams and winning Euro items.”

The main aim is to provide lots of fun for the kids and got them all involved, and it was important to have a local sponsor,  Mini Market Giannis,  who provided the cards. Max (as Italy, of course) won!
The club is committed to continuing its special events, and also do demonstrations in schools.
“It’s always important to keep introduction to the game simple. We let them play, don’t worry about too many of the rules, just focus on proper flicking and getting them to control the ball.
“As they get into the game, we find they naturally ask for more rules.
“But at entry level, it should be possible to have the rules on a simple display card.”

Senior and youth teams at major events

The Hungarian association, led by Gábor Baross, has continued its efforts to attract new players, conducting demonstrations at every home game of the famous Ferencváros football club.

Showing the kids how it’s done

“We play with the kids and any interested adults for two hours, every home match of Fradi, in the forecourt of the stadium before the match,” Gabor said.

“A few years ago I did interview with the marketing director of the club and I asked him about the possibility of conducting the promotions.

Even the Fradi eagle wanted to get in on the act

“He liked this idea, because they want more kids and families to come to the matches. There are plenty of other activities in the stadium, such as teqball, face painting for the kids, and they can practice their football shooting,”Gabor said.

“But table football always gets a lot of interest.”

An exciting UK team event is planned for November, with club teams from England, Scotland, Wales, and now Gibraltar.
English Subbuteo Association Vice Chairman Alan Lee also said it was hoped teams from the Irish Associations would also commit.
“The league has been two years in the making,” Alan said.

“We have cancelled twice because of COVID-19. When I returned to the game, the club and tournament activity in England was minimal,” he said.
“Initially we supported the set up of five new clubs. The next step in the plan was to create a National League, similar to the Italian model, where clubs and people could meet, play and share their passion.”
He said a lot had changed in the past two years, and the UK idea has evolved due to the stop-start travel restrictions in Europe, making it difficult for players to travel outside of the UK.

The venue in Redhill has plenty of space

“The ESA is now working closely with the Scottish and Welsh Associations to coordinate events with the ultimate aim of creating a UK tournament circuit. The Irish Associations have also been involved in discussions and we hope they will be able to fully commit soon to the plans.” 
Alan said they have targeted all UK clubs to participate. There are 17 recognised FISTF Clubs in the UK and he said he was pleased to say, at the time of writing, 13 have committed to the event.
“We are hopeful the other 4 will join us soon.”

The sports and pool bar will cater for up to 24 tables.

He said the list of confirmed clubs was:
Wolverhampton TFC
Stanway Rovers Flickers SC
Surrey Saracens SC
London Road SC
Haverhill Rovers STFC
Kent Invicta TFC
Harrow Hawks TSC
Cardiff Bluebirds TFC
East Lancashire SC
Manchester TFC
Bristol Subbuteo Club
White Star
Dundee United TFC
Alan said there had also been an approach from a team from Gibraltar which had been agreed by the ESA.

Events are not just about playing – it’s also about the preparation

“We’re talking with four more clubs — Solent SC, Glasgow TSA, Derry City TFC and Yorkshire Phoenix TFC.”
Alan said the tournament would be held over a full weekend.
It will be hosted by Surrey Saracens SC at their new venue in Redhill, south of London.
“The venue is a large Sports and Pool Bar and we have room for 20 to 24 Tables,” Alan said.
“The event will be played to FISTF rules but will be non-FISTF in terms of player selection. This will allow players who play for overseas based clubs to participate. Most will be playing for their local clubs, which is great news for all.”
Alan said the event is sponsored by the Wobbly Hobby Shop. https://wobblyhobbyshop.com
“Our hope is to gain more sponsorship for year two and to have even more clubs playing in the event,” he said.
“There are also plans to run an Old Rules Tournament alongside. There are many Old Rules Clubs in the UK and it is the vision of the ESA to unite all forms of the game.”

As if the COVID pandemic was not causing enough pain, our friends in Belgium and Germany suffered through recent devastating flooding that smashed homes and businesses.

Less than three weeks after our Belgian friends organised a friendly tournament “The Reunion” in Theux, the wall of water reeked havoc on the venue as these photos show.

Venue in Theux

After a wall of water left the venue covered in mud

And the great friend of FISTF and the sports table football community, Titi Giaux, had his business, Mustcafé in Rochefort, severely damaged. His venue was visited by the king of Belgium, Philippe of Belgium, who travelled around to see the damage in the community.

Titi’s pride and joy, the Mustcafe.

Surveying the damage with the King of Belgium

In Germany, our friends report no serious damage affecting the STF community.

We send our combined best wishes to all affected by this latest misery.

The Major Ilioupoli 2021 was held on 3-4th of July was held with great success in the hall of the 1st Athletic Complex of Municipality of Ilioupolis.

A total of 74 players took part – 40 in Open, 18 in Vets, 6 in U12, 5 in Women, and 5 in U20. Additionally there were 12 teams in the team event – very good numbers considering the global conditions.

The winners were:

U12: Maximos Di Maggio (GRE, Flaming Flickers SC) beat Stavros Mellios (GRE) 1-0.

Maximos Di Maggio Winner U12

Stavros Mellios Finalist U12

Apollon Dimakeas semifinalist U12

Stelios Kotakos semifinalist U12

U20: Philippos Papidakis (GRE, Scarlet Battalion SC) beat Marios Strommer (AUT, TSC Phoenix) 4-3.

Philippos Papidakis Winner U20

Skouros Panagiotis 4th place U20

Kotrotsos Evangelos 3rd place U20

Strommer Marios Finalist U20

Women: Eleftheria Papanikolaou (GRE, Roligans Ilioupolis TSC) beat  Katharina Waldorf-Busch 1-0.

Papanikolaou Eleftheria-Winner, Waldorf-Busch Katharina-Finalist

Papanikolaou Eleftheria-Konstantakou Danai semifinal Ladies =1-0

Waldorf-Busch Katharina Finalist Ladies

Women’s final

Veterans: Ioannis Salamouris (GRE, Noctuas Athens TSC) beat Panagiotis Charatsis (Scarlet Battalion SC) 3-0.

Salamouris Yiannis Winner Veterans

Kastellamos Antonis semifinalist Veterans

Charatsis Panagiotis Finalist Veterans

Open : Dimitrios Dimopoulos (GRE, Bologna Tigers Subbuteo) beat Giorgos Niavis (GRE, Roligans Ilioupolis TSC) 3-1.

Dimopoulos Dimitris Winner Open

Karavas Giorgos semifinalist Open

Genitsaropoulos Giorgos semifinalist Open

Niavis Giorgos finalist Open

Teams : TSC Falcons Athens beat SBSC 3-1.

TSC Falcons Athens Winners Teams

SBSC Finalists Teams

Noctuas TSC semifinalists Teams

AEL semifinalists Teams

MAJOR ILIOUPOLI 2021 RESULTS

MAJOR ILIOUPOLI 2021 RESULTS TEAM

 

Member nations across the globe are reaching out to young players, seeking a new generation of sports table football players.

A special introductory session was conducted by FISCT (Federazione Italiana Sportiva Calcio Tavolo) players, led by Saverio Bari at Subbuteoland with youngsters, showcasing our sport, following up his session at the Summer Camp of Accademia Modena 1912, the soccer school of Modena FC.

Subbuteoland

Accademia Modena 1912, the soccer school of Modena F.C.,

In France, young attendees at a football camp conducted by Laurent Fournier were shown the sport by newly elected French president Eric Naszalyi, Thierry Vivron and Benoît Achache.

Eric Naszalyi shows the sport to participants at the Laurent Fournier training camp

And in Australia, the school lunchtime competition conducted by Adrian Elmer continued for its 9th season, despite the battles with COVID19, with students competing for their colour houses.

Lunchtime school competition in Sydney

FISTF is always keen to hear from other associations conducting introductory sessions to our sport. 

The Fédération Française de Football de Table Sport – 3FTS recently hailed its new champions for 2021 with their national championships, hosted by Puylaurens.

In a dramatic Division 1, five players went into the last round of matches with a chance to be champion, but ultimately it was Thierry Vivron, from the Issy les Moulineaux club.

Vivron-Leroy

In Division 2, Skander Farza of Celtic Combourg CFT was victorious, while in Division 3, Eric Naszalyi (Issy les Moulineaux) took the honour.

Eric Naszalyi playing Skander Farza in the teams event

In the team event, Issy les Moulineaux came out on top,

Podium for teams: 1st Issy; 2nd Puylaurens; 3rd Saint-Symphorien-sur-coise

Today marks the 29th anniversary of the foundation of FISTF.
So much has happened in those 29 years — “the good, the bad and the ugly!” — as they say!
We’ve staged 22 World Cups, a range of Continental Championships across Europe, South America, Asia and North America, for individuals, teams and nations.
There have been scores of tournaments held under the FISTF Tour banner, with many “must play” events.
So many people have dedicated their time to develop our game — organisers, national officials, equipment manufacturers and of course, the players!
We look forward to some special events to mark our 30th anniversary in 2022.

FISTF Board