Subbuteo World Cup heads to Kent in 2024
Tunbridge Wells is the birthplace of Subbuteo
Image credit: https://www.instagram.com/officialsubbuteo/
The World Cup is coming home to Tunbridge Wells in 2024… the Subbuteo World Cup that is.
We are just over a year away from the famous table soccer game returning to the town of it’s birth, right here in Kent.
The English Subbuteo Association (ESA) made their bid to The Federation of International Sports Table Football to host the 2024 event, and shared the news that the tournament would finally be returning in September 2024.
Many will already know that the borough has a long association with the game which was invented in 1946 by Langton Green resident Peter Adolph, and early production of Subbuteo also took place in the area.
Around 32 countries are expected to be represented at the international event which takes place over four days, with as many as 64 games taking place simultaneously during the early stages of the tournament which will be centred around the Tunbridge Wells Leisure Centre.
ESA Vice Chairman Alan Lee said: “Winning the bid with the unanimous support of the world governing body to host this prestigious event is a very proud moment for me personally and the rejuvenated English Association. The ESA Board has committed to making this event the ‘best-ever’ World Cup and something the nation can get behind and be proud of. “
Greece and Brazil had also expressed an interest in hosting the 2024 event although Brazil withdrew their bid when they learned that the event could be played in Tunbridge Wells, the home of the game. The World Cup was last held in the UK, in Manchester, in 2012.
The origins and history of the Subbuteo game will feature in The Story of the Wells, one of the new galleries in The Amelia Scott, the new cultural and community facility in Royal Tunbridge Wells.
THE ENGLISH MASTERS
With just a year to go, The Amelia Scott will host the Subbuteo English Masters on 19th August 2023
The event, first played in 2005, will feature the top players in England in both senior and youth categories.
The final top 10 players in the English Championships will be competing at this special event to officially launch the 2024 FISTF World Cup taking place in Tunbridge Wells.
