The "Human Soccer Game Tournament" using a huge "table soccer" game was held on January 9th at Hiroro Square (Ekimaemachi, Hirosaki City).

Table football is one of the games played all over the world, and it is also called a soccer board in Japan. In general, you play one-on-one and control the player's doll attached to a rotating metal rod to shoot or prevent the ball from the opponent's goal. It has a long history and a large number of play populations so that associations for official competitions are established in various countries around the world.

The game board used on this day is a reproduction of general table football in a huge size of 10 meters in height and 3.6 meters in width. The wooden frame that surrounds the field is lined with six metal pipes. A player is caught in a pipe, and a person with a role such as a goalkeeper, midfielder, or forward plays soccer. The basic rules are the same as soccer, but as a special rule, you must not let go of the pipe during the match.

Akio Mikami of NPO corporation SPONET Hirosaki, who sponsored the event, said that it was planned around October 2015 when he saw the online video of overseas where he was actually playing the game. “The people playing in the video looked very fun and I wanted to experience it myself,” he recalls.

This year's tournament, in which local adult soccer team Brandue Hirosaki FC also participated, was held at "Hiroro Play Square", an event held every year in the spring and winter by Sponnet Hirosaki at Hiroro Square.

Tatsuya Shindo, who came to Yokohama from Kanagawa Prefecture to his mother's parents' home during the winter vacation, said, “I'm not good at a goalkeeper when playing soccer, but I can do it myself with this rule. In the game, the ball shot by the opponent I was able to stop. "

Mr. Mikami said, "It is attractive that both adults and children can play under the same conditions. It will be a great sport because it will consume more physical strength than it looks, so it should be a great sport. We will continue to utilize the custom-made equipment after seeing opportunities. "I want to".