Competitors from across the globe will be aiming to ”flick” their way to victory at the Subbuteo World Cup this weekend.
Although the noble sport is dominated by those from the continent, players from Tayside will be among those vying for glory.
The table football game, which will be remembered from the 1960s through to the 1980s, was relaunched in January, and the finals of the world cup will take place at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium.
Created in 1947 by Peter Adolph, the game now has more than five million followers. They will meet to take part in the 16th Sports Table Football (Subbuteo) World Cup.
Players from over 20 countries will compete for the title of individual world champion today. Then on Sunday, individual players will join forces to represent their countries in the national team championship.
Gareth Christie (33), of Abernethy, who is Scotland’s number two player and a former pupil of Grove Academy in Broughty Ferry, explained the game’s appeal.
He said: ”In Abernethy, I tell people that there is something for everyone in Subbuteo. I love football but I don’t go to many games now, but in Subbuteo you have all the teams and accessories and custom-made players.”
Gareth, a freelance digital artist who studied at Abertay University, is in Manchester for the tournament along with Steve Bennett (44), of Letham, Angus, who is Scotland’s number one player. Both play at the Tayside Kickers Table Football Club in Arbroath.
Gareth said both are looking forward to the world cup, although they realise the competition will be fierce.
”We’re a bit like the national football side in that we are not expected to qualify in our group,” he added. ”There will be new nations like Singapore and most of the European teams take it very seriously. They are very well organised and have youth structures.”
Gareth is running a new Subbuteo venture called FlickForKicks (www.flickforkicks.com), aimed at children aged 8 up to the youth market, and he is developing a digital product for accelerated learning of the game.