FISTF World Cup 2024 - Message from WASPA

Dear Subbuteo friends,

Speaking in the name of WASPA, I would like to wish good luck to all the players who will attend the Eland Cables FISTF world cup in Tunbridge Wells, England.

The fact the world cup is taking place in England is no surprise for me. A few years ago, England was far to be among the most important Subbuteo nations as Italy, Greece, Spain or Belgium for instance had much bigger numbers of players, clubs and events.

The WASPA circuit certainly contributed to the revival of the game in England. The lockdown period brought back the interest for the game to many Subbuteo fans and many local clubs have been created.

For many of these clubs, the WASPA circuit was an important link to connect players and clubs, to create regional circuits and improve the general standards of play. Can you believe more than 900 WASPA tournaments have already been held in England?

Those who started playing in the last 4 years have new gained experience and it's no surprise to see some of them playing for their national team this week-end.

Of course, many "new" players will compete for England but we are pleased to see some people who gained experience in WASPA events recently now playing for many other countries.

We can be very proud of what has been achieved but as I said many times in the recent past, the work of the English Subbuteo Association must be a source of inspiration. England has proved the WASPA circuit can be a real benefit for the game to recruit new players and to boost the motivation of players who cannot afford to travel abroad to play tournaments.

This is the right moment to thank Mr Alan Lee and all the people in the ESA Board who have used the WASPA circuit as a tool to develop the game. The ESA is now proving to the world that England is a major Subbuteo nation again and we are very proud to have helped in some way.

Special thanks also to Mr Steve Dettre, FISTF president, who has always supported the philosophy of the WASPA circuit. We are really pleased to see a strong Australian team travelling to England for the world cup!

We are looking forward to see a straightened collaboration between FISTF and WASPA in the future and to see many more WASPA events held in many different countries.

Once again, good luck to all players involved in the different tournaments. We are sure it will be a fantastic week-end for everybody.

Vincent Coppenolle, WASPA organizer

See more details about the world cup here: https://www.englishsubbuteoassociation.com/world-cup-2024