[1] Its objective is to move the ball into the opponent's goal by manipulating rods which have figures attached resembling football players of two opposing teams.

Patents for similar table games date back as early as the 1890s in Spain, Germany and France.

[3] Belgian magazine Le Soir illustré claimed in 1979 the French inventor Lucien Rosengart (1881–1976) came up with the game of table football in the 1930s when he was looking for things to keep his grandchildren entertained during the cold winter months.

[4][5] Galician inventor Alejandro Finisterre patented his invention of table football, futbolín, in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War in 1937.

[6] 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 throughout the country.

[3] The name foosball became common in the United States via German imports that called it "tischfußball" (lit.

[7][8] In 2002, the International Table Soccer Federation (ITSF) was established in France with the mission of promoting the game.

[3] The game involves using figures mounted on rotating bars to kick a ball into the opposing goal.

[11] The winner is determined when one team scores a predetermined number of goals, typically five, ten or eleven in competition.

Table football is often played for fun in pubs, bars, workplaces, schools, and clubs with few rules.

Moreover, ITSF recognises additional brands for international and professional tournaments, namely Warrior, Fireball, Ullrich Sport, Rosengart and Guardian.

The table football robot Foosbot is claimed to have been beaten by a human several times, but has been tested against expert players.