World Baseball Softball Confederation

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World Baseball Softball Confederation
(WBSC)
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Abbreviation WBSC
Founded 14 April 2013; 11 years ago (2013-04-14)
Type Federation of National Associations
Purpose World Governing Body
Headquarters Pully, Switzerland
Location
Region served
 Worldwide
Membership
 141 National Federations; 7 Pro Baseball "Associate Members"
Official language
 English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean
President
 Riccardo Fraccari
Affiliations International Olympic Committee, ARISF, SportAccord
Website WBSC.org

World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC; French: Confédération internationale de baseball et softball) is the world governing body for the sports of baseball, softball, and Baseball5. It was established in 2013 by the merger of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and International Softball Federation (ISF), the former world governing bodies for baseball and softball, respectively. Under WBSC's organizational structure, IBAF and ISF now serve as the Baseball Division and Softball Division of WBSC. Each division is governed by an executive committee, while the WBSC is governed by an executive board.

Headquartered in Pully, Switzerland, the WBSC was granted recognition as the sole competent global authority for both the sports of baseball and softball by the International Olympic Committee at the 125th IOC Session on 8 September 2013.

The WBSC has 208 National Federation Members in 141 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania. Professional baseball organizations as well as youth organizations are also included and form an arm of the WBSC as associate members.

As the recognised governing body in baseball/softball/Baseball5, the WBSC is charged with overseeing all international competitions and holds the exclusive rights of all competitions, tournaments and world championships featuring National Teams. These rights extend to the Olympic Games, with baseball and softball returning to the Olympic Programme for the 2020 games. WBSC's members hold the rights to organize and select National Teams. This exclusive authority of the WBSC and its members in each constituent country to sanction and regulate the sport of baseball applies in the 141 territories in which the WBSC has an associated National Federation.

Discussions to merge baseball and softball world governing bodies were sparked by a Memorandum of Understanding that saw baseball and softball leaders agree to form a joint bid to be added to the 2020 Olympic Games sports program.[1][2]

History

File:WBSC flag.svg
Flag of the WBSC

Following its exclusion of baseball and softball from the Summer Olympics in 2005,[3] the IOC reclassified baseball and softball as two disciplines of the same sport.[4] As the IOC's guidance indicated the necessity for baseball and softball to be jointly considered for reinstatement in the Olympic programme, the two independent International Federations set out on a path toward a full and complete merger.

In 2012, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and the International Softball Federation (ISF) laid out the essential ground rules for partnership and began working on a constitution that would guide the merger and provide a framework for governance, ethics and operations. At a historic IBAF Congress in Tokyo in April 2013, the Constitution was ratified and since it had already been approved by an ISF working group empowered to do so, the WBSC was officially formalized and empowered.[citation needed]

The creation of a single federation allowed for the permanent alignment, merger and management of baseball and softball at the world level.[5] The merger resulted in an immediate boost to the governance, universality and gender equality of baseball and softball, criteria for an Olympic sport that are heavily valued by the IOC.[citation needed]

At the first-ever World Baseball Softball Congress—in Hammamet, Tunisia—Italy's Fraccari was elected to a seven-year term as the first president of WBSC, along with a fully elected Executive Board.[6]

In 2018, the WBSC introduced a third discipline to be played at an international level, Baseball5 (B5), which is designed to be played with only a rubber ball on a small field, and which is targeted at underserved communities.[7] B5 is due to feature in the 2026 Youth Olympic Games,[8] and has two World Cups for youth and senior players alternating each year.[9]

Organizational structure

The WBSC is governed by the executive board, which consists of fourteen members: president, secretary general, two vice presidents, baseball executive vice president, softball executive vice president, treasurer, four members at large, athlete representative for baseball, athlete representative for softball, and global ambassador.[10]

The Baseball Division is governed by an executive committee, which has thirteen members: president, secretary general, 2nd vice president, 3rd vice president, treasurer, three members at large, four continental vice presidents (one each for Africa, Americas, Europe, and Oceania), and executive director.[citation needed]

The Softball Division is governed by an executive committee that has twenty-three members: president, secretary general, 1st vice president, 2nd vice president, treasurer, twelve vice presidents (two each for Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Oceania, and one each for North America and English-speaking Caribbean), two at-large members, two athlete representatives, immediate past president, and executive director.[citation needed]

The WBSC has four departments: media, finance, tournaments, and marketing. It also has several commissions.[citation needed]

Continental Confederation Members and Leagues

IBAF Members.png
  WBSC Africa in Africa
  WBSC Americas in the Americas
  WBSC Asia in Asia
  WBSC Europe in Europe
  WBSC Oceania in Oceania

There are six confederation members in the WBSC divided by geographical regions: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. In total, there are 198 countries affiliated with the WBSC. By region, there are 28 members in Africa, 58 members in the Americas, 34 members in Asia, 54 members in Europe, and 24 members in Oceania.[11]

Unlike the ICC, the WBSC identifies associate members as those who particularly endorse international baseball and softball with their own leagues in partnership with the WBSC. These leagues support baseball and softball to the extent that they are major sports in their respective countries. The table below has all leagues along with the country hosted:[12]

Team Region League
 United States Americas AABC
 France Europe AFBS
 Italy Europe AIBXC
 Taiwan Asia CPBL
 Dominican Republic Americas LIDOM
 South Korea Asia KBO
 Mexico Americas LMB
 Mexico Americas LMP
 Japan Asia NPB
 United States Americas PONY
 Puerto Rico Americas LBPRC
 United States Americas USSSA
 Venezuela Americas LVBP

International Tournaments

Men's baseball

Current top four per tournament[13][14]
Tournament Year Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
World Baseball Classic 2017  United States  Puerto Rico  Japan  Netherlands
WBSC Premier12 2019  Japan  South Korea  Mexico  United States
Summer Olympics 2020  Japan  United States  Dominican Republic  South Korea
U-23 Baseball World Cup 2018  Mexico  Japan  Venezuela  South Korea
U-18 Baseball World Cup 2019  Taiwan  United States  South Korea  Australia
U-15 Baseball World Cup 2018  United States  Panama  Taiwan  Japan
U-12 Baseball World Cup 2019  Taiwan  Japan  Cuba  South Korea

Women's softball

Current top four per tournament[15]
Tournament Year Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Women's Softball World Championship 2018  United States  Japan  Canada  Australia
Summer Olympics 2020  Japan  United States  Canada  Mexico
U-18 Women's Softball World Cup 2019  United States  Japan  Canada  Australia

Baseball5

Baseball5 tournaments are mixed-gender, with each team required to field at least two active players per gender at all times.[7]

Current top four per tournament
Tournament Year Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Baseball5 World Cup 2022 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Youth Baseball5 World Cup 2023 TBD TBD TBD TBD

Rankings

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Main article: WBSC World Rankings

Men's baseball

The following table has the Top 20 men's baseball countries in the world.[16] The Top 20 is here due to the next iteration of the World Baseball Classic, the world's major tournament in men's baseball, anticipating to have 20 countries compete. As such, this table shows the projected teams in the next WBC based on the ranking's algorithm.[17]

Rank Team Region Points Δ Previous finish
1  Japan Asia 4141 Steady 3rd
2  Taiwan Asia 3590 Increase 2 14th
3  South Korea Asia 3452 Steady 10th
4  United States Americas 3114 Decrease 2 1st
5  Mexico Americas 2483 Steady 13th
6  Australia Oceania 2025 Steady 9th
7  Dominican Republic Americas 1823 Increase 3 5th
8  Canada Americas 1713 Increase 5 15th
9  Netherlands Europe 1620 Steady 4th
10  Venezuela Americas 1619 Decrease 2 8th
11  Cuba Americas 1607 Decrease 4 7th
12  Nicaragua Americas 1100 Increase 3 DNQ
13  Panama Americas 1079 Decrease 1 DNQ
14  Puerto Rico Americas 1073 Decrease 3 2nd
15  Colombia Americas 916 Decrease 1 11th
16  Czech Republic Europe 812 Steady DNQ
17  Italy Europe 650 Steady 12th
18  Brazil Americas 565 Increase 3 DNQ
19  China Asia 546 Increase 3 16th
20  Germany Europe 545 Decrease 1 DNQ

Women's softball

The following table has the Top 16 women's softball countries in the world.[18] The Top 16 is here due to the next iteration of the Women's Softball World Championship, the world's major tournament in women's softball, anticipating to have 16 countries compete. As such, this table shows the projected teams in the next WSWC based on the ranking's algorithm.[19]

Rank Team Region Points Δ Previous finish
1  United States Americas 3951 Steady 1st
2  Japan Asia 3768 Steady 2nd
3  Canada Americas 3465 Steady 3rd
4  Puerto Rico Americas 3072 Steady 5th
5  Mexico Americas 2884 Steady 6th
6  Taiwan Asia 2813 Steady 9th
7  China Asia 2479 Steady 10th
8  Australia Oceania 2165 Steady 4th
9  Italy Europe 2156 Increase 1 7th
10  Netherlands Europe 1909 Decrease 1 8th
11  Czech Republic Europe 1602 Increase 1 DNQ
12  Philippines Asia 1575 Decrease 1 14th
13  Great Britain Europe 1425 Steady 11th
14  Brazil Americas 1379 Steady DNQ
15  New Zealand Oceania 1072 Increase 1 13th
 Venezuela Americas 1072 Steady 12th

See also

References

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External links

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