Forget Rooney, Gerrard and Lampard. The real stars of the national football team bidding for World Cup glory are called Atha, Hamilton and Shovelton.

These lesser-known heroes are in France for the International Table Soccer Federation’s World Cup, and they are taking it every bit as seriously as the version played on grass.

After training for several hours a day, honing their tactics and studying the various opposition, the British men’s side is confident of reaching the quarter-finals this evening, when it is seeded to meet a familiar and daunting foe – Germany.

“We’ve been knocked out of competitions by them three times already this year,” said Alex Shovelton. “It could be a difficult match.”

The tournament, only the second World Cup in the 80-year history of table football, will see the British women’s team facing even greater odds after being drawn in the same qualifying group as the Hungary and Austria, both among the favourites to win the competition.

The stakes are high, not only for the teams but also for the organisers. The tournament is designed to prove that table football, or foosball, as it is known, is no longer just a pub game. Officials want it recognised as a fully fledged sport and the players, the best of whom earn up to £50,000 a year in prize money, as dedicated athletes.

In France, le babyfoot has made a formal application to be registered as a sport and receive Government backing. The initial response was non but the French federation hopes that if the World Cup in Nantes, western France, is successful this weekend, the Sports Ministry will change its mind.

Boris Atha, chairman of the British Foosball Association, said that he is likely to make a similar application to the Government over the next year.

“We are not as far advanced as the French but we are working on it,” he said. “It may make us eligible for lottery funding and it would help with sponsorship and more cooperation from local authorities.” Farid Lounas, chairman of the International Table Soccer Federation, insists that the game requires considerable skill and stamina. “Players have to hit a ball hundreds of times so they need to be in very good physical and psychological condition,” he said.

“They train for six to eight hours a day, their abdominal muscles are powerful and their busts, arms, wrists and shoulders are in good shape. Everyone knows the game but they don’t know it as a top-level sport.”

Mr Shovelton, 23, agrees. “Your readers will see this as ridiculous but if they were able to watch a match and see how intense and skilled it is, they would change their minds.” A glance at the rules confirms table football has changed. Players are not allowed to shout or make gestures to distract opponents. Even talking may be considered as a foul. They are banned from insulting each other and from jarring, sliding and lifting the table. Players have also been ordered to come with four national shirts – one for each day of the event – to be worn at all times.

In the World Cup each team selects a preferred table and play games on their own and on the opposition’s surface. Britain has opted for an American-made Tornado with PVC balls and players, while France has chosen a Gallic Bonzini with cork balls and metal players.

The question is whether Britain can rise to German levels.Britain’s prospects jumped after Rob Atha and Joe Hamilton won the double’s championship on Thursday with a 3-2 victory against Germany. The result boosts the confidence of the British team for the World Cup, which begins today.

He twists, he scores

- The game was invented in the 1920s although there is disagreement over the country of origin. Britain, Germany and France all claim to have got there first

- Each side has eleven players on four rods, one goalkeeper, two defenders, five midfield players and three attackers

- The International Table Soccer Federation authorises five tables: the French Bonzini, the German Tecball, the Italian Roberto Sport and Garlando, and the American Tornado

- In the World Cup, teams play eight matches against each other Source: International Table Soccer Federation

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