A Subbuteo painter on eBay has come up with a unique new project – one-off international teams from some of the world’s smallest footballing nations.
The seller is painting obscure teams from FIFA who are taking part in qualification for the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the attention to detail and quality of the paint jobs is breathtaking.
What is interesting about these new teams, which include Andorra, Uganda and St Lucia, is that they are compete one-offs, meaning buyers have the chance to get a fan-made Subbuteo series and know that they own a one-of-a-kind team from an obscure footballing nation. It is basically a dream scenario for any Subbuteo collector.
And buyers have shelled out big fees for the teams. Sierra Leone of Africa fetched £31, while St Kitts and Nevis fetched closer to £50. Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica and Malaysia also fetched good sums from buyers eager to own one of the teams.
The latest to go on sale is St Lucia, whose striking yellow shirt with blue sleeves and shorts is an instant Subbuteo classic. It is currently listed for £9.99 and has not garnered any bids.
Here at Subbuteo.Online we love this eBay project and hope that the seller can get round to producing all of the FIFA teams competing in the World Cup in 2022.
It backs up something we have been thinking about for a while – how fans and makers of Subbuteo products are the true future of the brand. Instead of official teams and half-hearted attempts by the likes of Paul Lamond, Subbuteo needs to license out its brand name to people like this on eBay to make them official Subbuteo products.
The Subbuteo website should be an Etsy of verified Subbuteo painters and creators other fans can buy off, with a seal of quality and a reference number for each side attributed to the top painters who can produce small batches of rare teams.
In the meantime keep an eye out for these incredible international teams and the one-off creations that are fetching plenty of attention online. You can see them here.
