If you’ve done some reading on the origins of foosball, you’re probably aware of the fact that the name comes from the German word for football.
This leads to some interesting questions. Given that football is a separate sport from foosball, here’s one particularly intriguing inquiry: what is foosball called in Germany? Do they call both soccer and foosball by the same name, or do they have another word for foosball?
We’ve been curious about that question, too. Because of that, we’ve done a bit of searching to find the answer, which we’ll share with you here.
What Foosball is Called in Germany
According to this page on German foosball tables, foosball has a couple different names in Germany. Foosball is, of course, one of them.
However, another name that foosball is occasionally called in some parts of Germany is kicker. Using the name kicker might clear up some confusion, especially since football is what most countries around the world call soccer.
Tischfußball is another German word for foosball (pronounced like tish-foosball). It translates to “table football” in English, and helps distinguish between foosball and soccer.
Other Names for Foosball Around the World
Foosball and kicker are far from the only names for foosball. While we’re looking at Germany’s name for the game, we thought we’d take a little time to look at other names it’s known by, too.
In some Spanish-speaking countries, for instance, foosball is “futbol de mesa,” which translates to “soccer of the table.”
Babyfoot is another name that comes from foosball’s history. This name was coined by Lucien Rosengart, a French inventor, in the 1930’s. He claimed to have invented a predecessor of foosball as we know it today, and he chose to name it babyfoot at the time.
In the UK, many people call foosball table footie. If you were to visit Turkey, you might hear locals referring to the game as langırt.
Wrap Up
The bottom line is, foosball has many, many names. No matter where you go, you’ll find that locals have their own unique way of referring to the tabletop game we all know and love. This just naturally happens when something becomes so widespread with time.
Want to learn more about foosball? We recommend doing some reading on foosball tables. You can start by checking out our list of different foosball table types.