Author Archives: Steve Dettre

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Mallorca added as 5th FISTF Major for the 2024-2025 Tour

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The FISTF Board is pleased to advise that Asociación Española de Fútbol de Mesa (AEFM) application to host a Major Grand Prix in Mallorca has been accepted by the FISTF Board.

The FISTF Board received two bids, one from Spain and one from Italy (Rome), both of which were of a very high quality, leaving the Board with a difficult decision.

On balance, however, the Board favoured the Mallorca bid in part because of its desire to spread the most prestigious tournaments of the regular FISTF season over as many FISTF Member Nations as possible.

We are very confident that the Major of Mallorca will be a great event and showcase for our sport, and we look forward to working with you as required over the coming months.

FISTF

 

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Sérgio Loureiro claims Portuguese Grand Prix

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Sérgio Loureiro (Athens Falcons/POR) claimed the 2024 Portuguese Grand Prix.

Sérgio Loureiro (Athens Falcons) vs Ricardo José (Subbuteo Dragons)

The GP was the result of intense days of preparation for nothing to fail and in the end we finished up with a sense of duty fulfilled.

In the sports part, the highlights were the the victories achieved by Sérgio Loureiro in the Open, over Ricardo José (Subbuteo Dragons Azuqueca/POR) in the final game, while in the Veterans, Pascule Torano (Leonessa 2004 Brescia/ITA) beat Jose Santos (CF os Belenenses/POR).

In the Under 12 Henrique Acuña (CS Zarco/POR) lifted the trophy after a series of wins against the other registered players.

 
Another winner was Audrey Herbaut (Elan/FRA) who won the women’s category that was contested despite not having enough participants.

A special word for the Benfica Parish Board for the support they have given to the sport, and to the Architect Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles School that welcomed us so well and didn’t let us want for anything.
Report by Luis Filipe Silva
 
For videos: https://www.youtube.com/live/wu79DhdMVhc
 

 

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Haas claims Singapore Grand Prix

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Wolfgang Haas (Elstow Lions/AUT) claimed victory over Singapore’s top player Rudy Hesty (Jurong Central/SGP) 3-0 to take the Singapore Grand Prix.

The event saw the cream of Singapore’s table football community, with Haas beating Den Mulia (SG Lions/SGP) 2-0 in the semi final, and Hesty beating Michael Choong (Dragons HKG/SGP) 1-0 in the other semi.

Lim Ding Heng (Juron Central/SGP) won the Under 20 category while Nagulan Arivazhagan (KB Doves/SGP) secured runner-up position.

Jurong Central Subbuteo Club (JCSC) Team A emerged team champions with JCSC Team B coming in second.

John Edwards, Kebun Baru Community Sports Network, Chairman and Convenor of KB Doves Table Football Club, also  wanted a word of thanks to the organisers which include TFAS President Anas Rahmat and all EXCO members and everyone else present who in one way or another helped to make this event and a resounding success.
“Also to Kai Yi, Kebun Baru Community Manager and the Kebun Baru CC staff who helped with all the logistics and the Audio Visuals,” he said.
“They were very patient with our requests. Heartfelt thanks also to Kebun Baru CSN Chairman Leong Fook Seng and the CSN Team for all their support, patience and understanding.”
 
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Samuel Bartolo takes Maltese ‘Double’

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Last Weekend, the Malta Table Football Sports Association organized the annual “Malta Open” Knock-Out competition as well as the individual national championships in the Veterans, Under-20, and Under-16 categories.
In the Malta Open, as predicted, Malta Champion Samuel Bartolo retained this title as well.
In the semifinals, George Ebejer defeated Jason Pisani 2-1, while Samuel Bartolo had to struggle a lot when he was 0-2 down against Jean Carl Tabone to bring it to a 2-2 score with 10 seconds left in the match. In extra time (sudden death) he had moments where he could have easily conceded a goal, but he held firm to dominate in the penalties and won them 3-0, thus obtaining another national “Double” in his record of achievements.
 
In the Veterans category, we also had a final victory as predicted with Charlie Aquilina’s win. However, in the group stage, he suffered a significant 1-4 defeat against John Zammit. But in the semifinals, he advanced by a `walk-over` against Massimo Cremona to meet in the final against the same John Zammit, who in the other semifinal had defeated the highly rated Mario Camilleri with a score of 2-1.
The final was a different story, and this time, Aquilina bringing out all his experience to defeat John Zammit 2-1.
 
In the Under-16 category, we had Robert Farrugia Randon’s victory, where he dominated Gabriel Ebejer in the final, defeating him 5-0.
In the Under-20 category, it was a different story. Farrugia Randon faced a strong challenge from Thomas Ebejer, and in their direct encounter, they ended in a 4-4 draw.
Farrugia Randon won the title due to a better goal difference, making him the champion of both categories.
Thanks to Patrick Pace – President MTFSA – for the report
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Valverde claims 2024 Spanish Cup

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Angel Valverde (CAP City of Murcia/ESP) took the Asociación Española de Fútbol de Mesa  (AEFM) Spanish Cup 2024 over the 3rd weekend of the month.
The event was the last scoring tournament of the season for the individual categories on the Spanish circuit, and had a very good turnout with 53 players.
Valverde beat Alex Araujo (AS Iluro FT) in the Open final, giving him a triple success with the Spanish Championship and the champion of the Ranking AEFM. 


In the Veterans category, Vicenç Prats (Sharks FM) also managed to add the Spanish Cup to the Spanish Championship achieved in Estepa in February. A great double win!


In the minor categories, the Rosa brothers took it all.
Martí Rosa (AS Iluro FT) got a meritorious victory in U20 defeating Cristian Antunez (Sharks FM) in a tight final.


For his part, Julià Rosa took the U12 cup, adding it also to the U12 Spanish Championship harvested in February. Double for Julià too! 


Congratulations to all the winners and to all those who couldn’t make it!!!.
And again, congratulations to the organizers, with Mataró, one of the cradles of table football, is once again home to one of the most important tournaments on the national circuit.

 

Story courtesy of AEFM

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Matteo Ciccarelli claims prestigious Bologna Major

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Matteo Ciccarelli (TS Napoli Fighters/ITA) boosted his World Cup hopes with a dominating 4-0 victory to beat William Dotto (F.Lli Bari Reggio Emilia/ITA) in the final of the Open category at the Major of Italy, the Macron Cup Bologna.
He won all matches on the day to claim the title, including a 1-0 semi final win against Massimo Bolognino (CCT Eagles Napoli/ITA).
Dotto had some tough opponents to overcome, none more so than Carlos Flores (F.Lli Bari Reggio Emilia/ESP), who he beat on shots 3-2 after a 2-2 draw in the last 16.

Unseeded Fabio Belloni (ACS Perugia 1973/ITA) caused a major surprise when he claimed the veterans crown, beating 3rd seeded Pasquale TORANO (Leonessa 2004 Brescia/ITA) 2-1 on shots after a pulsating 3-3 draw.

World Number 7 in the women’s category Eleonora BUTTITTA (SC Bagheria/ITA) claimed victory against Melina Scheen (5) (ST Stembert/BEL) with a 1-0 win.

In the U16, Francesco MANFREDELLI (CCT Eagles Napoli/ITA) dominated, with a 6-2 semi final win against Nicolò COLOSSI (SC Bari/ITA) before beating Lorenzo FRICANO (Subbuteo Casale/ITA) 7-1.

Alberto CAPOFERRI (Rebels Genova/ITA) and Daniele SALATINO (SC Bari/ITA) traded goals in a 9 goal thriller before Capoferri came out victorious in the U12 event.

Marco PREZIUSO (ASD SC Salernitana/ITA) claimed the Open consolation event, while Alberto GÓMEZ (Subbuteo Dragons Azuqueca/ESP) took the Veterans consolation.

In the teams event, CCT Eagles Napoli (ITA)  beat Virtus 4strade SC Rieti (ITA) on goals 7-6 after a 1-1 draw.

A notable occurrence during the teams event was the match up between Ves Gentes (ITA) 2nd team against the might of F.lli Bari Reggio Emilia (ITA), where young Damiano Giampaola was determined to play against his hero Carlos Flores. After taking a surprise 1-0 lead, they settled for a 3-3 draw, and a match the youngster will never forget, Bravo Carlos and Damiano!


Off the pitch, the organisation of the event was superbly done, with Roger Trouillard running the results operation and a peerless social media plan.

The event was entirely broadcast on the official social channels of the Bologna Tigers Subbuteo. Specifically: with a fixed camera installed above the main competition field, the live broadcast was broadcast on the “A.S.D.” Facebook groups. Bologna Tigers Subbuteo” and “FISCT Live” and on the event page “FISTF Major of Italy 2024 – Bologna Macron Cup”.
Furthermore, an operator was tasked with filming the other “highlight” matches of the tournament, broadcasting them live on the TikTok channel “@bolognatigers”.
In this regard, excellent results were obtained in terms of views and interactions, as the live broadcasts on the TikTok channel, for example, were seen by 75,206 users (with over 16,900 likes).
A couple of reels have already been published on the official FISCT account (@fisctsubbuteo) relating to some key moments of the event.
At the moment, Alberto Capoferri’s winning goal in the Under12 Tournament has reached over 104,000 views, while Massimo Bolognino’s goal in the final of the Team Tournament has already reached 120,000 views.
All the live broadcasts broadcast on TikTok during the event have already been republished and made available to users on the Fisct YouTube channel (YouFISCT) and on the “A.S.D.” Facebook groups. Bologna Tigers Subbuteo” and “FISCT Live”.
To promote the event, a video was created and published on social media in the days preceding the event. On the official Instagram account of the Italian Table Football Sports Federation, this content has exceeded 213,000 views.
Finally, the results of the event were inserted on the bolognatigers.it website and made available to users in real time, who therefore had the opportunity to consult the tournament data and rankings on an ongoing basis. The links to the live broadcasts and the results were relaunched several times on the social networks of the Bologna Tigers Subbuteo, during the course of the tournament, together with a series of photos, always different and relating to the last round of the game played, personalized with a special frame created for the occasion.

Many thanks to Riccardo Marinucci for his detailed report.

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Northern Ireland releases squad for World Cup

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The Northern Ireland Table Football Association has announced its squad for the Eland Cables FISTF World Cup.
Martinog Bradley and Lawrence Watson have been nominated for the Open category, with Craig Stewart as the reserve.
In the Veterans category, Kenneth Beggs and Eoin Adams are the main nominations, with Ian Greer as reserve.
They will then combine in the Open Teams event.

FISTF

 

 

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Entries open for the Eland Cables FISTF World Cup

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The entry process for the Eland Cables FISTF World Cup 2024 has now opened.

All national associations are invited to submit their players for the competition, to be staged on September 20-22 at Tunbridge Wells in England.

As per the FISTF regulations, there will be six individual and team categories.
For Individuals, the categories and number of competitors are:
(i) Open: 64
(ii) Veterans: 64
(iii) Under-20: 32
(iv) Under-16: 32
(v) Under-12 32
(vi) Women: 32
A teams tournament will be contested in each of the categories.
A minimum of three national teams need to compete in the teams event for the title of world champion to be bestowed.

As per the FISTF World Cup Handbook, national associations need to follow the following process of nominating players.
(a) Each MNA may nominate up to 2 players in each category, the national champion in the referred category usually being one of them.
(b) Each MNA-P may nominate only 1 player in each category.
(c) Each MNA may also nominate up to 2 reserve players in each category.
(d) Each MNA-P may also nominate only 1 reserve player in each category.
(e) In addition to the nominations of MNAs and MNA-Ps under (a) to (d), each MNA may nominate up to 2 eligible players per category, drawn from the top of the FISTF World Ranking (WR) at the end of June of the World Cup year as follows:
(i) 8 Open category players (maximum 2 players per country);
(ii) 8 Veteran category players (maximum 2 players per country);
(iii) 8 Under-20 category players (maximum 2 players per country);
(iv) 8 Under-16 category players (maximum 2 players per country);
(v) 8 Under-12 category players (maximum 2 players per country);
(vi) 8 Women players (maximum 2 players per country).

If the required number of players is not reached in a category as defined in the handbook, the priority for the selection of reserve players is made according to the order set out below:

    • 1. First reserve from an MNA that has no players selected by the World Ranking.
    • 2. First reserve from an MNA that has 1 player selected by the World Ranking.
    • 3. First reserve from an MNA that has 2 players selected by the World Ranking.
    • 4. Reserve from an MNAP.
    • 5. Second reserve from an MNA that has no players selected by the World Ranking.
    • 6. Second reserve from a country that has 1 player selected by the World Ranking.
    • 7. Second reserve from a country that has 2 players selected by the World Ranking.

The full details can be found in the World Cup Handbook: https://fistf.com/technical-pages/documents-library in the Competition folder.
The deadline for nominations for the FISTF World Cup is Sunday 14 July 2024.

Please note: Submissions can only be made by national associations. Nomination of a player as a reserve is not a guarantee of participation, and depends on the number of players.

FISTF Board 
MNA: Member National Association
MNA-P: Provisional Member National Association