How well do you know the ITSF, the International Table Football Federation?

How well do you know the ITSF? The International Table Soccer Federation is nothing less than the largest organization on the planet table soccer. Just that!

Its members are elected for a period of 4 years during a general assembly. The president of the board is Farid Lounas, the vice-president and treasurer is Klaus Gottesleben, and the general secretary is Matthew Boris.

The ITSF's objective is to coordinate national federations. It all dates back to the 1950s, when table soccer competitions began to develop seriously. To organize all these people, coordinate the federations, inform the players, and finally to bring cohesion to the world of table football, the ITSF was created.

In 2002, on May 9th to be precise, a meeting bringing together numerous national federations (Germany, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, China, USA, etc.) was held in Francoville, France. It was during this major event that the broad outlines of the ITSF were defined.

3 months later, on August 16th, 2002, the International Table Soccer Federation was officially created in Oberwart, Austria, with the status of a non-profit organization.

Today, the ITSF has multiple missions. It of course promotes table football internationally, encouraging players from all over the world to strengthen their unity and build relationships. It is very close to organizations representing the sport, clubs, and associations and actively participates in the promotion of table football, including in disadvantaged countries. It also has a development fund for this purpose. With the International Olympic Committee, it fights for the recognition of table football as a sport in its own right. The Table Football World Cup, the World Championships (and its 40 participating countries), and other international competitions are the fruit of its labor. It also lays down the law! It sets the rules of the game and the referees' code. It is responsible for disciplinary sanctions!

More generally, the ITSF works to maintain the values of table football, values based on respect and fair play, both in competitive table football and recreational table football!

Many foosball tables have had the honor of receiving ITSF certification. This is particularly the case for this black foosball table below. Did you recognize it? It's the famous Garlando Pro Champion ITSF foosball table:


If you're more of a fan of Roberto Sport table football, you'll probably fall in love with this Sport Kombat ITSF, a real pro table football: