What people should know about
F.I.S.T.F. The game
Where can the rules of table soccer be found?
What is table football
Rules can be downloaded at www.fistf.com (the new website is currently under construction). You can also drop a line to the FISTF President at vincent@fistf.com to get the file in your language.
Table football, also known as Subbuteo, is a popular board game played in over 50 countries by millions of players. Tournaments have been organized for over 50 years in more than 25 countries and there is an international circuit of tournaments organized by FISTF since 1993. Table football has its own world cup and even an European championship for clubs.
What's the better way to polish figures? The best of all is to use a small piece of cloth with a little bit of "Pledge" or "Mr Sheen". You only polish the flat part of the base (00 scale and/or sports figures) by putting a figure on it, rub a bit and then polish it up on a separate dry cloth. It's really important to pick up figures without putting your thumb or finger on the base - this takes away the polish. Some special polish clothes are sold by Rudi Knuf, Stefan Peters or Astrobase. Have a look at www.astrobase.it for more details.
As a new player where can I buy table soccer equipment? More stuff will come soon about it but you can either contact your national association or go to one of the different websites selling material. www.astrobase.it , www.worldtablesoccer.com, www.stefancorda.co.uk and others sell quality material and offer an excellent service.
Are there other suppliers than Hasbro? Yes, but only local producers like Astrobase (Italy, ProfiBase (Germany), Stefan Corda (England), Biemme (Italy), Lunula (England) or AstroBase (Italy) are the best brands for table football material.
In what language are the rules available? Right now, the rules are available in English, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese.
How can I find a good video explaining what table football is? Stefano Montecchiesi (fastvideoge@tin.it) from italy has produced a DVD with the basic rules of the game. You can order the DVD directly from Stefano or from www.astrobase.it There are also many videos available on www.youtube.com
Whom can I ask about rules questions? The FISTF Board members can answer your questions. Heinz Eder (heinz@fistf.com) is the best man to answer your questions.
The basics What does FISTF stand for? FISTF stands for Federation of International Sports Table Football, which is the official governing body in table football.
What is the role of the FISTF Board of Directors? The FISTF is constituted by the National Associations which are recognised as administration body of table football in their respective countries by the Federation. Moreover, only one Association is recognised in each country. The main objects of the FISTF are the promotion of Sports Table Football in every way, to foster friendly relations between National Associations and their officials and players by supporting the organisation of Sports Table Football events at all levels, to manage Sports Table Football by taking steps as shall be deemed necessary or advisable to prevent infringements of the Statutes or regulations of FISTF.
How can I start a club? To start a club, you need to be at least 2 players and try to meet regularly. In some countries, clubs must have at least 3 players to be affiliated. All you need is have at least one table and 2 sets of figures to play. Later, you can also try to promote your club to get new players or organize your own local competitions.
How many players does a club need to play team competitions? To play team competitions, you need to have at least 4 people, even if it is allowed to play with 3 players. In this case, the 4th game is always lost 3-0.
What are the largest clubs in the world? The largest clubs have more than 20 members. Some schools have been running subbuteo leagues for years and attract up to 50 players.
How do I register my club or new players with FISTF? Once again, all players must register at tournaments so that the FISTF has a list of its members. Organizers have to send the list of the registered players and make sure they know at least each player's birth date, nationality and club. These details must be transmitted to the ISTF sports Department. Also, at the beginning of the season, all national associations must normally send a list of their members to the FISTF Sports Director (Heinz Eder).
How can I be informed about the latest news in table football? FISTF President Vincent Coppenolle (vincent@fistf.com) edits a weekly newsletter containing the latest results, news from around the world and details about the upcoming events. Drop him a line to subscribe to the newsletter. www.subbuteonews.com is another option to be informed about what's going on in our sport.
How can you contact the FISTF Board members? The e-mail is the easiest way: Vincent Coppenolle (President): vincent@fistf.com Heinz Eder (Sports Director): heinz@fistf.com Alan Collins (Marketing director): alan@fistf.com Mario Spiteri (General Secretary): mario@fistf.com Thorsten B端sing (Communications Director): thossa@fistf.com Kostas Triantafillou (Communications Director): kostas@fistf.com Fred Vulpes (Finances Director): fred@fistf.com
What are the different national associations affiliated to FISTF? Most western European countries have their own associations. Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany are the oldest associations but the game is also very popular in the Great Britain, in France, in Malta, in Italy, in Greece, in Spain and in Portugal. Associations also exist in North and South American as well in Asia and even in South Africa.
Is Subbuteo still available in shops? In Italy, Spain and the UK, it's very hard to find shops selling material. Hopefully Hasbro will relaunch the game on a worldwide scale in the near future. The latest version of subbuteo, back in 2006, was very different of the game we all know. Hasbro will hopefully come back to the great version of the game, which was already available in the shops in the 90's.
The FISTF circuit Is there any world ranking? Yes, FISTF has its own world ranking system with over 1500 ranked in the different categories: Open, U19, U15, Veterans and Ladies as well as a ranking for national teams and for club teams. The rankings are published every month.
How are FISTF ranking points awarded? The players receive world rankings points when they play at FISTF events. The points are awarded if there is a minimum number of player in their category. Players keep their points for 2 years but after 12 months, points lose 50 % of their value. For instance, if you play in a tournament in September 2005 and get 100 points, you will only have 50 points in the ranking of September 2006 and 0 point in the ranking of September 2007. More details are available in the FISTF Handbook.
What are the different age categories that I can have when organizing a tournament? For the season 2006-2007, the categories are as follows: Open category, U19 category (players born in 1988-91), U15 category (players born in 1992-94), Veterans (players born before September 1st, 1967), Ladies (any age), U12 category (players born in 1995 or later). The U12 category is not official but the FISTF pushes the national associations to develop this category.
How many Grand Prix and Open tournaments are each country allowed to host? Every national association can host on Grand Prix and two Opens. Associations can also organize Satellites, Challengers and Futures.
What is the procedure for doing the draw for a tournament? You must have a look at the handbook to know the exact procedure. If you want to receive the Handbook (available in English and French), you can drop a line to the FISTF President at vincent@fistf.com
Who do I send tournament results to? Results must be sent to the FISTF Sports Director in the 3 days following the tournament. The Sports Director is Heinz Eder. Results should be sent by email at the following address: heinz@fistf.com
What is the correct format to send results? Tournaments results are compiled into the FISTF standard format so that it's easier to compile archives of former events. Organizers have to make sure that all groups results are sent, as well as the details of the team matches. Copies of all former results are available from the FISTF president at Vincent@fistf.com or directly from our partner website www.subbuteonews.com
From who can I get the international calendar? The responsible person for the calendar is Heinz Eder (heinz@fistf.com). The official calendar is usually published on the official FISTF website at www.fistf.com and on our partner website www.subbuteonews.com
What are Major tournaments? Major tournaments are played in Elbeuf (France), Mons (Belgium), Bologna (Italy) and Mattersburg (Austria). They are the main events in the FISTF circuit and they attract most of the world's best players. This season, over 200 players competed in Mons. As Elbeuf will not be organized anymore in 2008, FISTF has decided to keep only 3 Major tournaments for next season.
What are Satellites, Challengers and Futures? Satellites are tournaments Open to everyone apart from the world’s top 100 players. The top 200 players are not allowed to play in Challengers and the top 300 players are not allowed to play in Futures.
What about the European Cup? The European Cup for clubs has become one of the most exciting competitions held during the season. In several countries (in particular in Italy and Belgium), the competition is very though to decide which teams will qualify for the EC.
The champions Who’s the World number 1? Eric Verhagen from the Netherlands is the current world number 1 in the FISTF ranking. The Dutchman has been playing in a lot of tournaments and won a lot of competitions in the last two years, including the Grand Prix of the USA and tournaments in Austria, Great Britain, Belgium, France, Denmark,…
Massimo Bolognino The player from Napoli, Italy, has won 1 European title (1999) and 3 world championships (2000, 2001 and 2005). He also won 5 Major tournaments in his career.
Vasco Guimaraes Vasco is a living legend. He’s the only player to have won 7 Major tournaments. The Portuguese champion also won 2 big titles in Open category (World champion 1996 and European champion 1997) as well as the European title 1995 in Youth category.
Belgium Since the creation of FISTF back in 1993, 121 European and World titles have been awarded in all different categories. Belgium won 44 titles while Italy took 28 and Portugal 14.
Italy The Open national team of Italy won the last 6 World titles and hasn’t been defeated since the year 2000.
The Eagles Napoli Since the creation of the Major tournaments, 31 team titles have been awarded. The Eagles Napoli won 15 Majors. Massimo Bolognino’s team also won the European Cup for clubs 2006 in Almada, Portugal.
The future More tournaments Who’s the best female player? Delphine Dieudonné (left on the picture) from Belgium has already won 9 significant titles as she won the world championship 7 times and also won the European titles back in 1995 and 1997.
FISTF is trying to develop its circuit and to have more tournaments in more countries. Competitions are expected to be hosted for the first time soon in Singapore, Malaysia, Switzerland, Australia,…
More players Currently over 1500 players are ranked in the FISTF world rankings. We hope to reach the number of 2000 in the next 3 years and 3000 in the next 10 years.
Working with the youth FISTF would like to encourage national associations to create more local clubs with young players aged 8-15. Clubs can be created among football clubs and schools.
Availability of material FISTF is currently trying to find more places were the game can be sold. Hopefully our cooperation with Hasbro will improve in the next few years.