George Eid Sr, a 62-year-old restaurateur from Manchester, is a world champion foosball player. He discovered the game in 1975 at age 12 in Beirut, Lebanon, during the civil war. With school cancelled and roads closed, he spent hours at an amusement arcade across the street, where he cleaned tables in exchange for free games. He practised by stuffing a towel inside the goal while machine guns rattled nearby.
From Beirut to Manchester
By his teenage years, foosball took a backseat to other interests, but after moving to Manchester in 1986 with his British wife, he kept a foosball table in his kitchen. In 2004, while managing the Hard Rock Casino, he set up a table with a sign reading 'Beat the manager,' attracting 30 competitors weekly—but he always won.
One day, Khalid Sharif, then the UK foosball No. 1, challenged him. Eid won 10-0, and Sharif introduced him to Britfoos, the British Foosball Association. At this professional level, teams consist of a striker and a goalie. Eid partnered with Sharif as striker, and they competed across the UK.
World Cup success
In 2012, after opening his Lebanese restaurant Zaytoon in Manchester, Eid was invited as a substitute for Team GB at the World Cup in Hamburg. More than 35 countries competed in a hall with 200 tables and big screens. In 2018, at the ITSF world series in St. Pölten, Austria, Team GB faced Germany in the final, which went to penalties. 'We thrashed them and won gold,' Eid said.
A year later, at the World Cup in Murcia, Spain, Team GB defeated Portugal, then the USA—20-time world champions—in the quarter-finals, winning all 40 points. 'The whole arena cheered for us,' Eid recalled. They beat the Netherlands 40-39 in the semi-finals before losing to Germany 40-24 in the final, securing silver.
Life as a champion
Foosball has taken Eid to Las Vegas, Rome, and Germany. He practices with his team on Friday nights in Manchester. 'The game has given me an international family, friends, and enemies,' he said. One German player is his nemesis, but they share drinks afterwards in mutual respect.
Eid still runs his restaurant and displays his foosball medals. His son, George Jr., a personal trainer and talented goalie, travels with him and helps rehabilitate his shoulder from foosball injuries. 'At 62, I have to keep my stamina up,' Eid said. He now prepares for the next World Cup in 2028, playing hypothetical games in his mind while cooking and studying opponents' footage. 'In foosball, gameplan is vital—and in the next World Cup, I want gold.'
