Kabaddi is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players, originating in ancient India. The objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their players as possible, and return to their own half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders in 30 seconds. Points are scored for each player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider. Players are taken out of the game if they are touched or tackled, but return to the game after each point scored by their team from a tag or tackle.
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: the men's and women's national teams, Major League Soccer, National Women's Soccer League, youth organizations, beach soccer, futsal, Paralympic, and deaf national teams. U.S. Soccer sanctions referees and soccer tournaments for most soccer leagues in the United States. The U.S. Soccer Federation also administers and operates the U.S. Open Cup and the SheBelieves Cup.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the governing body for all national table tennis associations. The role of the ITTF includes overseeing rules and regulations and seeking technological improvement for the sport of table tennis. The ITTF is responsible for the organization of numerous international competitions, including the World Table Tennis Championships that has continued since 1926.
Lucien Rosengart was a French engineer.
Sports in the United States are an important part of the nation's culture. Historically, the national sport has been baseball. However, in more recent decades, American football has been the most popular sport in terms of broadcast viewership audience. Basketball has grown into the mainstream American sports scene since the 1980s, with ice hockey and soccer doing the same around the turn of the 21st century.
Sport in Pakistan is a significant part of Pakistani culture. Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan. Football has also gained popularity in recent years, and is the second most popular sport in the country. Field hockey is the national sport, and was popular for several decades, with some of Pakistan's greatest sporting accomplishments having taken place in this sport, along with squash. Polo and traditional sports like kabaddi and other well-known games are also played.
Sports table football is a competitive form of tabletop football which simulates association football. Since 1992, the sport has been governed worldwide by the Federation of International Sports Table Football (FISTF). Informal play of such games date back to Newfooty Company in 1929, with Subbuteo Sports Games introducing the style of figure used in modern sports table football in 1947. (See Tabletop football § History for details.)
Table football, also known as foosball or table soccer, is a tabletop game loosely based on association football. Its object is to move the ball into the opponent's goal by manipulating rods which have figures attached resembling football players of two opposing teams. Although its rules often vary by country and region when the game is played casually, competitive-level table football is played according to a unified code.
Frédéric Collignon is a table football player from Liege, Belgium.
Todd Loffredo is an American veteran professional Table football player. He is a multiple World Champion and often partners with Frédéric Collignon in Doubles. He started his career as a forward but plays both goalie and forward in doubles. Frédéric Collignon considers him the best table football player in the world. In 2005 he was inducted to the Table Soccer Hall of Fame.
Tornado is brand of table football (foosball) table that has been used in the World Championships since 1986. The original Tornado model was created by engineer Bob Furr. The Tornado brand has been manufactured by Valley-Dynamo since 1999, and is a market leader in both coin-operated and home recreation room markets. Tornado Foosball Tables are used in the most important championships of the U.S.A. Tornado tables are sanctioned for official play by the following governing bodies:
Tony Spredeman is an American master table football player from Milwaukee, WI, USA currently living in Romania. He is a multiple-time World Champion and often partners with Billy Pappas in the Open Doubles format.
The Valley International Foosball Association (VIFA) is an American "association of coin machine operators, foosball table manufacturer and foosball players, working together to provide increased interest in the game of foosball". The league is headquartered in Bay City, Michigan, and was founded by game equipment manufacturer Valley-Dynamo. 11th VIFA World Championship was held in 2007.
Rob Atha is a table football/foosball player from the UK, previously ranked 1st in the world and regularly ranking in the top 5 of the International Table Soccer Federation (ITSF) rankings. Atha has been the number #1 ranked player in the UK since the early 2000s.
Fabio Cassanelli is an Italian Table football player. He is a multiple world champion. Partnering with Francesco Bonanno, he has won the gold medal for Disabled Doubles category at the ITSF World Championship (Nantes) in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and is titleholder of the World CUP 2013.
The sport of football in French Polynesia is run by the Fédération Tahitienne de Football. The association administers the national football team. With 146 association football clubs and over 11,200 registered players, football is the most popular sport among the inhabitants on the island of Tahiti.
William Pappaconstantinou commonly known as Billy Pappas is an American professional table football player and amateur poker player from Lowell, Massachusetts. He won the Tornado format Men's Singles ITSF WCS in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2013 and also won the Men's Singles Tornado Champions in 2009 and 2011. He has been ranked among the best Tornado table football players in the world since the age of 20. He often partners with Tony Spredeman and Glen Murray for doubles. In poker, he made final table in 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event finishing 5th.
The North American continent is the birthplace of several organized sports, such as basketball, charrería/rodeo, gridiron football, ice hockey, jaripeo/bull riding, lacrosse, ollamaliztl, mixed martial arts (MMA), racquetball, ultimate, and volleyball. The modern versions of baseball and softball, skateboarding, snowboarding, stock car racing, and surfing also developed in North America.
The Armenian Table Soccer Federation, also known as the Armenian Table Football Federation, is the regulating body of table soccer in Armenia, governed by the Armenian Olympic Committee. The headquarters of the federation is located in Yerevan.
Farid Lounas
