The ESA are pleased to announce the appointment of Simon Goodman as General Secretary. Simon has a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion for the game and is someone who adds a new dimension to our voluntary organisation.
Interestingly, Simon first played the game as a boy in the Heavyweight era of the 70s and then joined the Romford Table Soccer League in 1977 and started learning how to 
play properly – switching to flat celluloid figures. As a player in the English Table Soccer Association he ascended to the dizzy heights of British Champion in 1986. Joining the E.T.S.A committee in the 1980s Simon performed a number of roles including Treasurer and Rules Secretary and possibly at one point Chairman (he can’t actually remember!). In the 1990s Simon joined the Rules Committee of F.I.S.T.F. for a time. He was also on the T.S.P.A. Committee, as Treasurer.
He has played in the E.T.F Europa Cup and European Team Championships – for Scotland (which is another story) but also went on to play for England and manage the team alongside Trevor Spencer at the first F.I.S.T.F World Cup in Paris in 1994. Simon has played around Europe and is proud to be able to count many friends made as a result. “I love the game of Subbuteo in all of its forms – also its predecessor Newfooty – the game has a fascinating history from the 1920s to the present day, it has never stopped developing and changing”.
These days Simon has returned to the game and within the last year has taken on the challenge of the new flat-based figures – the modern game. “I have yet to find a type of Subbuteo figure that doesn’t have some qualities which I like – diversity is a great thing, it provides choice and we now have more choice than ever before, the game is in a great place right now.” So Simon is getting out and about again and is looking forward to playing abroad again in the near future. “Subbuteo is a game for everyone, all ages, sexes, nationalities and abilities - let’s try to spread the word and raise the game up – it is a fantastic game and should be enjoyed more widely.”
Simon has replaced the previous secretary Brian Daley who had been a key figure in supporting the ESA over the past few years. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Brian for his contribution and wish him the very best of luck with his future endeavours within our game.
