90 nations have confirmed their participation in the 41st QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in Ljubljana, Slovenia,  and among the players will be two former champions

Joining Mika Luoto (pictured), already declared as Finland’s entrant, will be Ahmed Shaheen of Qatar, champion in 1999 when the tournament was held in Las Vegas, USA. Shaheen also reached the quarterfinals in 2002 in Riga, Latvia, when Luoto won.

“We are very pleased to see Shaheen return again,” said Anne-Marie Board, 41st QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Manager. “He has already taken part eight times and very few bowlers get the chance to compete that many times.

“We now know that we will also be welcoming four countries for the first time - the Azores, Libya, Serbia-Montenegro and Slovakia. It is particular pleasure to see so many nations joining us, including, for the first time, all those which joined the European Union last year. I am sure they will enjoy their World Cup experience and become an important part of the World Cup family.”

Bowling is a sport for all ages as well, and the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup demonstrates this. “Our oldest competitor this year will be Antonieta Costa from the Azores, who is 70,” said Board. " By contrast, our youngest are Natalia Martin of Poland and Ilkin Babayev of Azerbaijan, who are both16. But there are lots of 17 and 18-year-olds as well.”

The 41st edition of the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup will be held at the Gladiator Bowling Centre, a brand new centre which opened in May 2005. The centre is owned and operated by Kolosej, one of the biggest leisure and entertainment companies in Slovenia and QubicaAMF’s key partner for this year’s event.

The Gladiator Bowling Center is the winner of the Bowlers Journal International  prestigious 'Best New Center Exterior Award' in the magazine's 21st Annual Bowling Center Architecture and Design Awards, published in the November, 2005 edition.

More can be found on their web site: www.kolosej.si. For further information on the Gladiator leisure complex, please go to www.arenalive.si.

Additional information on the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, including archives and bulletins for this year’s tournament, can be found on www.amfbowlingworldcup.com.

QubicaAMF Bowling Worldwide is the founder, organiser and principal sponsor of the Bowling World Cup and is also one of the leading bowling products manufacturers and marketers in the world. With worldwide headquarters near Richmond, Virginia, USA and European headquarters in Bologna, Italy, the joint venture offers a complete line of high quality, innovative solutions for new and existing bowling and entertainment centres. The name of the event was changed to QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup following the merger of Qubica and AMF earlier this year. For more information on the merger on QubicaAMF worldwide can be found in www.qubicaamf.com.

For further information, contact Keith Hale: keithhale679@aol.com