Who are we?
P4P is a non-profit association - the full name is "Players 4 Players Tischfussballvereinigung e. V." - and we organize table football tournaments. Almost everyone knows this game, but many don't realize that foosball is a sport that can be played at an extremely high level, far beyond what you experience in e. g. a pub.
Once you have played (and presumably lost:) against opponents who have seriously practiced foosball and have gained a higher level of expertise, the desire is quickly awakened: "I want to be able to do that, too". The game exerts a high fascination and has numerous positive effects - from expanding the circle of friends to improving coordination, reaction and mental strength. Table soccer is to 80% a "head thing"!
The good news: The options regarding foosball tournaments and clubs is as large in Germany as in only a few other countries in the world, and P4P has a large part in this!
What are our goals?
First and foremost, our goal is to offer players attractive tournaments that are simply fun, but where you can also compete with other players at the highest level if you have the ambition!
Further goals are generally the spreading and promotion of the sport of foosball, as well as the improvement of the public perception of table soccer (unfortunately there is still the inaccurate cliché of foosball as a "pub sport").
P4P does not pursue commercial intentions. Our tournaments do not generate a profit, income from entry fees and membership fees is mostly distributed as prize money. The rest is needed to cover running costs such as table transport, insurance and hall rental. The tournament organization and all related work is done completely on a voluntary basis.
History
Until the end of 2000, there was mainly one field of activity for ambitious players besides smaller, privately organized tournaments: the commercial tournament series of the manufacturer of the then widely used "Löwen Tournament Soccer" tables. When this manufacturer finally decided to discontinue its tournament series, this initially left a painful gap. Shortly thereafter, however, a few dedicated players began to organize tournaments on a voluntary basis. For this purpose, an association was founded - the "Players 4 Players Tischfussballvereinigung e. V.".
Numbers and statistics
We have been around for 20 years now, and the balance is quite impressive:
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P4P has about 10,000 members (as of 2021), of which about 1500 are active and regularly attend tournaments each year.
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We host about 8-10 tournaments a year, including a German Championship at the end of the year, which is much larger than the normal "Open" tournaments. The annual prize money of the tournament series is about 150.000€.
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In 2006, the first P4P World Championship was hosted; since then, World or European Championships have been held approximately every two years.
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The record number of participants for a single tournament stands at around 800 (World Championship 2010); the smaller Open tournaments usually attract 200-300 players.