Foosball Tables 423a26

Foosball, which is also known as football table, is played where tiny foosmen are attached to rotating bars controlled by two or more players who try to beat each other in a miniature association football-style match.

Millions of people all over the world play foosball tables and, consequently, foosball tables are manufactured in many countries. They also come in different styles and it is customary to speak of the Italian-style table, the German-style table and the American-style foosball table. It is, however, the French-style foosball table that is the official selection of the International Table Soccer Federation's tournaments and world tour.

Foosball game tables are the American name for Fuss ball, which is German. Foosball is just table soccer. Origins of the game are not easy to trace, it could have developed in different countries over the same period, probably in the late 1800's. The first inventor thought to be Lucien Rosengart. Foosball did not become popular until after World War II. First competition was in the early 1970's in America, but was in the 1950's in European countries. Every week 1.9 million people play foosball.

Foosball tables are usually 4ft long and 2ft wide, although they can vary in size and the longest one presently in existence is the 7m table that forms part of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's piece called Stadium. A normal size foosball table should have 8 rows of foosmen and these tiny manikins are attached to horizontally rotating metal bars. Foosmen are made from substances like wood or carbon-fiber and players manipulate the bars by hand to make them kick the ball and score goals. Balls can also be made of different substances, and these include cork, plastic and marble, and what the ball is made from can affect play as, for instance, different balls move at different speeds.

Foosball tables also differ according to the number of goalie foosmen they have and some have three goalies, equally spaced across the width of the table, while others have downward sloping corners so that the ball always rolls back to the goal area.

A foosball table can also come with folding legs to facilitate storage and its top surface is usually either glossed or laminated. Drink holders, extra balls and server-ball holders are common extras and tables can also feature adjustable-height legs.