Courtesy of CEL: 3D Print the English Football Team, Foosball-Style, for Euro 2016

The 2016 UEFA European Championship, aka Euro 2016, began over the weekend, and it would be a serious understatement to say that European football fans are really, really excited. Amid reports of hooligan violence, English company CEL, creators of the Robox 3D printer, is offering a more constructive way for fans to channel their energy. The Bristol-based company has released a set of free 3D printable models of some of England’s favorite football stars – or should we say Foosball stars. Each model has been designed as a tabletop football player that can easily be slotted on to your own Foosball table to replace the faceless guys who come standard.

While CEL has seen some serious success, they’re also a company that doesn’t take life too seriously, as seen in many of their previous projects. They’ve used 3D design to celebrate the Dad Bod, to put the fear of God into pigeons, and to feed BBC broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson, among other things. Their 3D printable celebration of the English football team is not only clever, but cathartic – fans frustrated by the draw with Russia in the first match of the championship can take out their anger with some furious Foosball.

“The UK is gearing up for a huge summer of sport, and we’re already going football mad here at CEL. When it comes to getting into the football spirit though, hanging up a few flags is so 2012,” said Chris Elsworthy, CEO of CEL and creator of Robox. “With affordable 3D printing reaching more and more homes across the country, ambitious makers out there can turn everything into an homage to the Three Lions. Your faceless table football players can now be our top stars – and if they get knocked out at the group stages then they’re also easy to remove!”

 If you’d like to populate your Foosball table with the stars of English football, you can download the models for free from MyMiniFactory. CEL, of course, recommends printing them with the multi-material Robox, but any 3D printer will do.

If you’re feeling ambitious, you could also try designing 3D printable models of England’s opponents, the better to channel your competitive energies – or, if you’re less ambitious, you can always stick a few logos of opposing teams onto your faceless guys. I can’t remember the last time I played Foosball, but I do recall some matches in the past getting pretty intense, with some of the more unfortunate plastic players getting kicked right off of their supports. How satisfying would that be, England fans? So get on over to MyMiniFactory and print out your guys, then commence kicking your stupid opponents in their stupid plastic faces. (I’m currently agonizing through the NBA finals, so I’m a little stressed right now, myself.)

Also – if you’re planning any parties for Euro 2016, why not check out some 3D printable bottle openers, coasters and coolers from last year’s championship? And if England wins it all, keep an eye out for someone to design a 3D printable trophy – or design one yourself. If you have a 3D printer, there’s really no limit to the ways you can celebrate your team. Are you interested in one of these? Discuss further over in the 3D Printed CEL Foosball Models forum at 3DPB.com.