By Sarah Curran
A BANGOR man will compete against the world’s top Subbuteo players this weekend in the World Cup in Paris.
Eoin Adams will bring a wealth of experience to the pitch this weekend when he competes as part of Team Northern Ireland in the classic tabletop football game.
The 54 year-old will compete in the Veteran category, alongside team members from across Northern Ireland – Kenny Beggs, Ian Greer, Martin Og Bradley, Lawrence Watson and Stephen McAllister.
A total of 25 countries will be taking part with individual, team and youth events throughout the weekend.
The game, which involves flicking miniature players with fingers along a tabletop football pitch, operates under normal soccer rules and for players like Eoin, it was a childhood fixture, having gained peak popularity in the 60s and 70s.
Eoin recalled starting to play the tabletop game at just 13, adding that he has played ever since.
“I’ve had several breaks on and off, but I keep coming back to it,” Eoin laughed.
Eoin has experience on the world stage, having previously competed in the Federation International of Sports Table Football World Cup in the 2006 games in Germany, the 2022 games in Rome and the 2024 games held in England.
With Paris 2026 just around the corner, Eoin has met with team mates and travelled to England over the last few months to practice and play various tournaments.
Eoin was among Subbuteo players who kept the game going after it dropped in popularity following the release of football video games, and later formed the Northern Ireland Table Football Association in 2002.
Recalling his early Subbuteo career, Eoin noted how his finger was once insured for £50,000 in a publicity stunt.
“In 1988, I went to play in the European Championships in Brussels, that was back when Waddington’s ran the game,” Eoin explained.
“They paid for every junior champion of every country in Europe to go to the European Championships and also paid for us to get our fingers insured for £50,000.
“It was a publicity thing, they got a lot of publicity out of it. They got a lot of publicity in the press and it led to a boost in sales for them.”
Asked what he liked most about the game, Eoin said he enjoyed the ability to control his football team.
“The teams I support in real life don’t do very well so I like to have a team that I am able to control and make all the decisions” he said.
Eoin continued: “I like travelling also. I have friends all across Europe and I have travelled the continent quite a bit and meeting other people from other countries is good fun.”
Last month, Eoin had a moment of panic, when he realised he had left his football team on the train after a tournament in Belfast.
“I thought I would never see them again and so I bought new teams from England,” he said.
“But then, Kenny Beggs who runs the game, emailed me to say a guy was walking his dog at Bangor West station and he found the teams sitting on the platform.”
The man who found Eoin’s team noticed a sticker with the NI Football Association’s details and got in touch with Kenny to reunite Eoin with his team ahead of this weekend’s Word Cup games.
Subbuteo competitions take place throughout Northern Ireland and an Irish Circuit is also held each year with competitions in Donegal, Ballymena, Dublin, Tralee, Wexford, Cork and Derry.
The game of Subbuteo table soccer continues to thrive in Ireland – north and south – and new members are always welcome.
Further information and links can be found on Northern Ireland Table Football Association website www.nitfa.org.uk.
