Table Football

Table Foosball is generally played for fun in schools, clubs, workplaces, pubs and bars etc. In these places it is generally played with very few rules. However, Table Foosball is also played at competitive levels in competitions organized by various organizations. These are played under strict rules and regulations. These organized competitions started as far back as1940s 1950s and now involve prize money running into millions of US Dollars. Foosball can be played in “Singles” as well as “Doubles” and more up to 11 players a side. In “Singles”, it is considered difficult to control all four rows of Foosmen simultaneously. On the contrary, in “Doubles”, one partner has to manipulate only two rods (Rows) of Foosmen. As the expertise increases, other difficult but very effective shots such as snake-shot, pull-shot, push-shot and front-pin etc are used.

A vast number of tables exist for variety of the game. For example Tornado Foosball Tables offer the advantages of pinning capabilities, still-ball feature and counterbalanced men etc. The Sportcraft Tables are basically elegantly designed tables having more or less the same features of other tables. Similarly, there are many other manufacturers such as Harvard Soccer Tables, which caters for the Table Soccer, another variety of Table Foosball; Harvard also manufactures the regular Foosball Tables. Then there are Kicker, Rosengart, Jupiter Goldstar, Eurosoccer, Halex Football Table, and a lot of other brands. There is also a seven meter long table, which was created by an artist by the name of Maurizio Cattelan called Stadium. This table would take eleven-a-side teams. In certain tables the Foosmen resemble the actual players. All these tables have certain differences which in turn influence the game. For example, most of these have a single goal keeper or goalie that can only move out in a certain goal area. Sometimes the ball used to get stuck in the corners of goal area, so they had to be sloped. To overcome this problem some tables have three goalies – one in the center, and one each for the two goal corners.

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Even outdoor foosball tables are available for those people who do not have sufficient space inside their houses. Their special features are their ability to withstand extreme weathers and out door vibrations. Tables for top outdoor foosball are manufactured by Fat Cat, Rhino, Rene Pierre and Murrey etc. Interestingly, Table Foot ball is now being played on-line. Many websites offer it among their on-line games Table Foosball online. In most of these games basic principle is that each side takes possession of the ball if it is in the zone of their any player. For providing tips to the customers of tables, certain magazines contain foosball table review. For example a monthly magazine is published from England that provides tips to men, for example the Stuff Magazine of UK. These magazines also carry out testing of the famous brands of the foosball tables or the football tables from around the world, and rate them accordingly. Their ratings are base on their design, quality and price.

Several organizations and promoters are holding professional table foosball and table soccer events all over the world. These involve large prizes involving millions of US Dollars. The rules of these tournaments are regulated by ITSF (International Table Soccer Federation). Even a world cup is also held every four years, which coincides with the FIFA World Cup. In its last edition of 2006, the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals were won by Austria Germany and Belgium respectively.