BarcelonaThe match ended in a draw and the tie was decided by the golden goal. The first to score, to the final. attack france The goalkeeper is outside the area, but nevertheless misses the opportunity. It’s Catalonia’s turn, which doesn’t waste the extra bullet. Three passes and a goal means the classification. Pedro Sánchez congratulates Jordi Roca for the victory. In the decisive match, Catalonia will not be lucky and Colombia, represented by Adrià Vila, will end up taking the victory by 3 to 0. They have been proclaimed champions of the button football World Cup.
Barcelona’s Foment Hortenc hosted the competition for this genuinely Catalan game, invented about a century ago and which is undergoing parliamentary procedures to become an official sport. The success of the call has been more than remarkable. Forty senior participants, to which must be added the children plus the curious who went there to take their heads off. More than a hundred, in total. “We lack space!” says Enric Albaladejo, president of the Catalan Association of Football Buttons (ACFB) and co-president of the Federation of Football Buttons of Catalonia (FFBC).
The senior tournament is reserved for the 40 best players in Catalonia, each representing a national team. Enric could participate by ranking, but this time he looks at it from the sidelines and is in charge of the organization. Futsal already has a League, a Cup and a Champions League, but the coincidence with the World Cup in Qatar has caused the FFBC to also think about a small-scale tournament of nations. But very competitive.
The Foment Hortenc is small for the button soccer World Cup
The audience is literally small. The ten boards are separated by a meter, if that. The anticipation grows as the participants are eliminated. And there are surprises. Adrià Garriga, the young man from Centelles who a few weeks ago proclaimed himself world champion in the sheet metal category – an official tournament held in Brazil -, falls in the second round. “Not a single one wants to enter today!”, he laments. Of the eight associations in Catalonia, Palautordera (BAP) proves to be the one with the best form and places three players in the semi-finals. The children’s tournament is also awarded, which is won by Biel Marquès (who plays with Germany). There is a third competition, the Silver Cup, a play-off between those eliminated in the first phase of the World Cup. It is won by Joan Ponce, who represents the United States.
Button football has a century of life but still few players. The Federation is still in the process of creation and they hope to be recognized as a sport to have the definitive impetus. Meanwhile, boil the pot. At Foment Hortenc, great experts meet novice fans, some of whom don’t even know the rules. It doesn’t do anything. Who else is willing to lend a hand, to explain how to play or to discuss tactics. Because in this game, which they define as a parlor sport, it’s no use having a lot of skill with the shooter if you end up leaving the defense unguarded or you don’t have the anticipation to throw the chips in the attack. time to time
