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Kentucky Competition Leads Huge Upswing in Foosball Popularity

LEXINGTON, KY - Foosball players from all over the world are
converging on Lexington, Kentucky in preparation for a truly unique
sports event: the 14th Annual IFP Foosball Pro Tour Kickoff
tournament. Yes, you read that right: Foosball. To be held January
23-27 at the Lexington Holiday Inn North, this event is expected to
draw many of the best foosball (a.k.a. "table soccer") players in the
nation and numerous top international players as well.

This year avid foosball enthusiasts will be closely watching
hometown favorite and current World Junior Foosball Champion Ryan
Moore, 18, of Lexington. Ryan, also a member of the U.S. National
Team, recently captured the World title at the International Table
Soccer Federation's (ITSF) World Championships tournament in St.
Vincent, Italy, and is expected to face a host of top contenders,
including the United Kingdom's superstar Rob Atha, 23, and top
American tour winners such as Terry Rue of Lafayette, Louisiana and
Tracy McMillin of Houston, TX. They'll all be joined at this
tournament by most of the U.S. National Team and as many as 400 male
and female competitors, all vying for a total of $35,000 in cash and
prizes.

The annual Tour Kickoff has also achieved international tour
status, having been sanctioned by the ITSF as a Master Series event.
Players from as far away as Hungary, Ireland and Costa Rica will
compete against America's best in Singles, Doubles, Mixed Doubles, and
several specialty events. With seven skill-level divisions and
special 17 & under, and 12 & under events for younger players, all
comers are welcome to participate -- there's something for everyone!

As an added feature, this year's tournament will also include a
special book-signing by World Table Soccer Almanac co-author Kathy
Brainard, scheduled for Friday through Sunday. And on Friday evening
only, a rare guest appearance by Foosball Hall of Fame member Mr.
Lawrence Patterson -- widely known as the "Father of American
Foosball."

The tournament is organized by Kentucky's own Independent Foosball
Promotions and is sanctioned by ITSF and the United States Table
Soccer Federation. Sponsors of the event include TornadoFoosball.com,
Budweiser, Rent Way, Little Caesars Pizza, and the Lexington Holiday
Inn North, while sponsors of the U.S. National Team include
Brunswick's Valley-Dynamo, Borden Milk Products of North Texas,
Sebastian Custom Warm-ups and Foosball.com. All competition will be
held on Tornado Table Soccer tables, a product of Brunswick Corp.
Admission is free to spectators and press. Opening events begin at
8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 23rd, with most finals played on
Sunday the 27th.

With over 50 participating countries and over 40 other ITSF 2008
World Tour events already scheduled to take place across five
continents in places as diverse as Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas,
Tokyo, Paris, Dubai, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Costa Rica, Denmark,
Singapore, and the UK, this year's tour will be the largest worldwide
table soccer pro tour ever!!

For additional details about the event and the sport, please see
the following websites:

www.ustsf.org - USTSF official web site/U.S. National Team sponsorship
opportunities
www.table-soccer.org - ITSF web site; International Rankings, Rules
and more
www.foosball.com - General information about the sport of table soccer
www.foosworld.com - Information about players and regional events
across the U.S.A.
www.vifa.com - USTSA web site/U.S.A. rankings/International League
info

For more information, photos, or for an electronic version of this
release, please contact:
Mary Moore, Tournament Director, Tel: 1-859-268-8502; Email:
ifpfoos@alltel.net
Larry Davis, Executive Director, USTSF, Tel: 1-563-580-9485; Email:
larry.davis@ustsf.foosball.com

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