Now that you know about the Lions Subbuteo Club, Singapore (SLSC), let us take you on a historical journey on this wonderful sport played all over the world today.
Subbuteo, the world's most famous table soccer game was founded in 1947. It is a set of table game simulating a team sport of football. The name is most closely associated with the football game, which for many years was marketed as 'the replica of Association Football'.
The 'Subbuteo' name is derived from the Latin Falco subbuteo, a bird of prey commonly known as the Eurasian Hobby, after a trademark was not granted to its creator Peter Adolph to call the game The Hobby.
Playing Subbuteo is a physical simulation of the sport, involving dexterity and skill in flicking the playing pieces, which stand on weighted bases, across the tabletop mat towards the ball. Note that the ball is in fact hugely out of scale in comparison to the figures for ease of use. In fact, the Subbuteo football stands almost as tall as the players!
It quickly bcame a rage soon after and it hit its peak in the late seventies right through the late eighties. After Waddingtons sold the rights of the production of the game to Hasbro and along with the computer age taking over, the game took a tumble. But thanks to the Federation International Soccer Table Football (FISTF), the game is now popular in many countries again.
Apart from competitions and tournaments orgnaised by clubs all over the world, FISTF also organises an annual World Cup so that Subbuteo Enthusiasts can gather to battle for the converted title of world champion.