Foosball Table Hire: Córdoba or Catalan

The game involves using figures mounted on rotating rods to kick a ball towards the opponent's goal. Foosball tables can vary in size, but a typical table measures approximately 130 centimetres long and approximately 78 centimetres wide. The table usually has eight rows of players, which are figures made of plastic, metal, wood or, sometimes, carbon fibre, mounted on horizontal metal rods. Each team of one or two human players controls four or three rows of players: one row for the goalkeeper, the defenders, the midfield and the forwards. Players manipulate the rods to control the figures, using them to hold, pass or 'kick' the ball. 

Games start when the ball is served to the middle of the field, or simply placed by hand at the feet of a figure in the centre of the table. A coin toss is generally used to determine which player or team serves first. If it is not the first match, or if the ball goes out of play or stops suddenly, then the team that scored last receives the serve after one has scored. 

The term for when the ball leaves the table or stops somewhere out of reach of the figures is dead ball. Expert players are known to move balls at speeds of up to 56 km/h (35 mph) in competition. 

The rules prohibit "shots of more than 360 degrees" or "spinning": using the palm of the hand to quickly spin the rod around, instead of using wrist strokes to kick the ball with a figure mounted on a rod.  Since the establishment of the International Table Soccer Federation (ITSF), the rules have been standardised in most international competitions. However, since January 2012, the annual World Championships and the World Cup have allowed two full 360-degree rotations.

The winner is determined when a team scores a predetermined number of goals, usually five, ten or eleven in competition. When playing Bonzini competitions, the target number of goals is seven and players must win by at least two clear goals.

The following layout is common to ITSF competition tables, although substantial variations exist, particularly in Spain and South America, where the Futbolín table model (or variants) is common and uses a different configuration.

Official world tournaments

Foosball is often played for fun in pubs, bars, workplaces, schools and clubs with few rules. Foosball is also played in official competitions organised by a number of national organisations, with highly developed rules and regulations.

The ITSF now regulates international events, including the annual World Championships and the World Cup. The World Cup was originally intended to coincide with the FIFA World Cup, but since January 2009 it has been held annually. At the 2013 ITSF World Cup and World Championships, almost 500 players from 30 countries gathered in Nantes, France, to compete. The United States team won the World Cup.

The ITSF World Tour has also recently been expanded to include Asian countries. China, Taiwan and Malaysia hosted ITSF-sanctioned tournaments in 2013. In 2016, the Philippines hosted the Manila Bay Open.

Patents for similar table games date back to the 1890s in Europe. However, the origins of foosball go back to 1921, when Harold Searles Thornton of the United Kingdom patented the game as "Apparatus for playing a table football game".

Harold invented the game because of the popularity of association football in Europe and Spain, which was spreading so quickly that he decided to make a game people could play in their own homes.

The game took the name "foosball" in the United States through German imports that called it "Tischfußball" ( literally , "table football "). Its design was inspired by a matchbox.

The Belgian magazine Le Soir illustré stated in its November 1979 issue (no. 2471, page 26) that the French inventor Lucien Rosengart (1881-1976) devised table football in the 1930s when he was looking for things to keep his grandchildren entertained during the cold winter months. He called the game "babyfoot" rather than futbolín. Employed at the Citroën car factory, Rosengart is credited with inventing the minicar, front-wheel drive and the seat belt, among other things.

Alejandro Finisterre was a poet who created and patented his invention of the Catalan foosball table, the futbolín, in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. His version of the game is the one used in today's Córdoba or Catalan foosball table.

The game was eventually brought to the United States in the 1950s by Lawrence Patterson, reaching its peak of popularity there in the 1970s, when it could be found in bars and pool halls across the country.

In 2002, the International Table Soccer Federation (ITSF) was established in France with the mission of promoting the game. The ITSF acts as a governing sports body, regulating international competitions and establishing the game with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).

As for the name of the Córdoba foosball table or also called the Catalan foosball table, there is no difference: the Córdoba foosball table is the original Catalan foosball table made in 1937. It is called Córdoba because that is the factory that began distributing it to the vast majority of Catalan bars.

Alejandro patented the invention in Barcelona on 1 January 1937. At the end of the Spanish Civil War he went into exile in France on foot, thus losing his patent.

A foosball table can come in many sizes, generally depending on the people it is intended for and on the amount and type of use it will get. Family and children's homes may use smaller tables, while tournament players will want a regulation-size table approved by the sport's governing body.
 

Small Foosball Table Hire

For young people and families, or those with limited space, foosball tables can be as short as 120cm long, or even as small as 90cm. If you have limited space or are buying for very young players, this would be the foosball table that suits you best.

Standard Foosball Table Hire

Standard foosball tables are around 130cm wide. The most commonly used ones in this case are for large-crowd events, festivals, trade fairs or weddings. A good table to play on that does not need to have professional dimensions.

In this case we would recommend the Madrid model foosball table, like the one in the photograph

Professional Foosball Table Hire

In this case, because of the purpose of the event, whether a foosball tournament or because you want the highest-quality table, the dimensions are approved by the ITSF

The official length is usually 165cm, and the width can vary depending on the type: the Córdoba foosball table is 140cm wide and the Val foosball table is 165cm.

Giant Foosball Table Hire

The giant foosball table respects the approximate dimensions of the Madrid foosball table, with the difference of the length, which is approximately 6 metres for 16 people.

This foosball table can also be adapted for 8 people by making the field smaller.

It is intended for large groups and is ideal for conferences, corporate events or gatherings such as weddings or communions.

Exact size of the Catalan foosball table

166 cm x 140 cm x 94 cm (length x width x height). Without the rods, the width of the cabinet is 92 cm.

Regulation field size of the Córdoba foosball table

Measures 1397mm long and 780mm wide. 5mm thick

Materials of the Córdoba foosball table

The cabinet of the foosball table is made of solid wood, hence its weight of 150kg, with a varnish finish.

The playing field is made of 8mm phenolic resin, hard and resistant to play, while the lines of the playing field are made by hand.

Players of the Catalan foosball table or Córdoba foosball table

The players are metal, injected aluminium and hand-painted in the colours of each team, as a rule those of the Barça vs Real Madrid classic.

You can also ask us for players of other teams or customised ones and we will adapt the foosball table to your needs. If they have to be painted by hand we will do it ourselves. Each customised player is quoted separately, since we buy 22 metal players and then carefully and by hand paint them one by one. This process takes us approximately 6 hours to apply 2 coats of paint to each of the players and finally the resin coat.

The players have a distance between the feet and the playing field of 16mm, and the goalkeeper 12mm, so that lobs can be made over the outfield players.

The balls

They are 34mm in diameter and made of bakelite, a better-quality material than plastic.