FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2004 AMF BOWLING WORLD CUP AIMING FOR 100 COUNTRIES

LONDON, ENGLAND, October 20, 2004 - More than 100 countries, including newcomers Afghanistan, Libya, Nigeria, Slovakia and Tajikistan, hope to send athletes to the 2004 AMF Bowling World Cup in Singapore this December.

Tournament manager Anne-Marie Board reports that, as of mid-October, 106 countries had requested entry forms for the Dec. 5-12 tournament. The 40 th edition of AMF's annual classic will be held at SuperBowl SAFRA Mount Faber bowling center.

The early interest puts the AMF World Cup, the world's largest annual international sports championship in terms of number of participating nations, on track for a new attendance mark. The current record of 88 nations was set in 2000 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Mohammed Khalifa Al-Qubaisi of the UAE, men's 1988 champion, is one of four former champs who have qualified for Singapore thus far. Defending women's champion Kerrie Ryan-Ciach of Canada, Shannon Pluhowsky of the USA (2002), Martina Beckel of Germany (1992) and Al-Qubaisi are all seeking a second title.

Other recent qualifiers include the UAE's Rahma Mubarak Al-Sharqi; four-time World Cupper Ann-Maree Putney of Australia; Japanese national player Hiroko Shimizu; Swiss star Bigi Manico; Egyptian national player Tarek Helmy, South Africa's Guy Caminsky and Swedish national champion Martin Larsen.

The 2003 World Cup Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year, Patrick Leroy of Morocco and Beatrix Pesek of Hungary, will also compete in Singapore.

Men's defending champion C.J. Suarez of the Philippines is currently competing in his national qualifying tournament. Among those he must defeat is four-time World Cup champion and a member of the International Bowling Hall of Fame, Paeng Nepomuceno.

Additional information on the AMF Bowling World Cup, including archives and bulletins for this year's tournament, is available on the Internet at www.amfbowlingworldcup.com .