The History of Table Football

There have been many disputes over the origins of table football, with various countries claiming that they had been at the forefront of its invention. The difficulty is that there are many similar games that can date back as far as the late 19th century.

Most people, however, can now agree that the game as we know it today was created by an Englishman named Harold S. Thornton, and patented in the year 1923. Hailing from north London, he was fanatical about his local team, the Tottenham Hotspurs. Not satisfied with only watching the game at the stadium, Harold wanted to take that home with him and duplicate play by using first a box of matches. He laid the matches across the box to form the grounds of the game. This was just the beginning. Shortly after, a relative of Harold's came to visit from the USA and loved the idea so much that he took it back to his motherland to be patented again in the year 1927. Another popular belief is that the game first evolved in Galicia, Spain. Local Galician Alejandro Finisterre wanted to make football accessible for those children who were not physically able to play out on the field. He discussed his ideas with Francisco Javier Altuna and the game was patented yet again in 1937.

Throughout the years, table football gained popularity at an alarming rate and the development of the game became a passion for many. The table and players have undergone many changes to make room for a smoother game-play. Special editions have been made by artisans, such as Maurizio Cattelan, who gave us the 7-meter table titled 'Stadium', allowing room for eleven players on each side. The 'Opus Table' produced by the company Elevenforty, went another step further by individually handcrafting their tables with footman to resemble the real-life players of today. Heaps of variations can be found from table to table; for example, some use balls made from cork, others plastic or wood. Despite these differences, the general format remains the same.

In modern day society, table football is enjoyed by millions. Most people play for fun in pubs, at school or work and amongst friends at home. Others play in official competitions, where they can win prizes for their victories. The interest in this game has even led to the bizarre but intelligent creation of robots by some students in Germany. The robots use a camera from below a transparent table to keep track of the ball. At first tested on the everyday player, these robots had an 85% result of winning. Put up against professionals though that percentage dropped to around 10% .

Organized competitions began mid 20th century throughout Europe. What really kicked it all off though was due to a man named Lee Peppard of Washington, US. He was and still is the father of the professional table football. In 1975, he began with the 'quarter million dollar tour', which was the first of many. Although these tours ended abruptly in 1981, it didn't put an end to likewise tournaments being held by newly founded organizations in the US, England and Italy, to name a few.

One of the most notable of these organizations today is the International Table Soccer Federation, which established itself in France in 2002. They are well known for promoting competitions like the annual World Championships and the World Cup, which coexist alongside the FIFA World Cup every four years. They have gone as far as being included within the International Olympic committee and the General Association of International Sport Federation. The ITSF continues to encourage the development of table soccer in today's society and unite players all over the world to play in professional and friendly games.