Table top soccer tourney comes to Ames

Some of the top competitors around the midwest will gather in Ames later this month to compete in a table-top soccer game that was invented in England. Not to be confused with foosball, subbuteo is played on a felt playing surface with players, nets and other accessories made to scale. Iowa State associate professor Frank Montabon is helping organize the tournament at the North Grand Mall in Ames on June 28th. Montabon says the game can trace its roots back to the 1920s and remains largely unknown in this country because the sport of soccer still has limited popularity. He says he’s talked to people who grew up in Europe that know about the game. He says it’s kind of an alternative to video games.As opposed to the soccer you might see on television, Montabon say Subbuteo actually moves quite swiftly. You have to move around the table and maintain possession of the ball as long as you don’t miss the ball with one of your players. Montabon says the tournament will include several players from St. Louis and the Twin Cities.