FEATURE | SUBBUTEO PASSION

Over 60 of our member clubs immortalised in paint

There’s an increasing number of Southern League clubs becoming immortalised with Subbuteo teams thanks to the hard work and dedication of Paul Lloyd

He received his first Subbuteo set for Christmas at the age of nine and it began a lifelong passion that is just as strong 55 years later.

Over the past two decades he has been producing Subbuteo teams to order, which includes over 60 of our member clubs.

“I do the teams in batches from 10-18 per day, dependent on the kits,” Paul told us. “I’d say that I’ve done over 20,000 different teams, from local leagues, international teams and professional clubs from all over the world. I do a combination of retro and modern kits.

“The Southern League is well represented, of course. The Malvern Town kit is a lovely one that I really like, same with Gloucester City, which is really colourful and vibrant. Weymouth’s kits are always interesting, so too is the current Bideford AFC kit – I used to live there and went to watch the club regularly. I also like the Stratford Town kit, which has a retro feel to it and a great colour scheme.

“I’ll be working on a Worcester City set soon, which I am looking forward to.

“My requests come in from fans of the clubs as well as Subbuteo enthusiasts. I have a shop on eBay and I sell them there and I also have a Facebook page, Paul Lloyd’s Santiago Teams, where memories are shared from the halcyon days of the 1970s and 1980s.

“There’s still plenty of love for Subbuteo but sadly since the actual Subbuteo firm was dissolved 25 years ago, the number of youngsters getting interested has dropped dramatically.

“There is so much else to grab their attention these days, but for fans of a certain age, there are so many memories wrapped up in Subbuteo. I really enjoy getting orders for teams and I like nothing more than replicating their kits on the figures. It’s a lifelong passion.”