Abu Dhabi will host two prestigious world tenpin bowling championships, it was announced on Wednesday. The capital of the UAE is to stage the 2014 World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA) World Men’s Championship and the 2015 WTBA World Women’s Championship. Abu Dhabi last hosted the WTBA World Championships in 1999 which are the pinnacle for professional tenpin bowlers from all over the globe. The 2014 and 2015 events will take place in late August or early September at the Khalifa International Bowling Centre in Zayed Sports City. “We are very pleased to announce that Abu Dhabi will host back-to-back world championships,” said WTBA President Kevin Dornberger. “A lot of people have fond memories of the UAE hosting the world championships in 1999, and we look forward to two more great events.” The announcement is the latest achievement for Zayed Sports City which also hosted the Fifa Club World Cup for two years. The facility is managed by Global Spectrum. “We are very honoured and excited to have been selected as the host city for these fantastic championships which have global appeal,” said Barry Bremner, executive member of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the championships. “Bowling is one of the most popular sports in Abu Dhabi and the Khalifa International Bowling Centre at Zayed Sports City is the perfect place to host world championships. “With 40 international standard lanes and 1,000 retractable seats this is a world-class bowling facility.” In addition to the world championships events, the WTBA Executive Board will meet in Abu Dhabi in both 2014 and 2015 with the WTBA and Federation Internationale des Quilleurs each having a congress in the city in 2015. With the announcement of the 2014 and 2015 events, the schedule for the next four World Championships is set.