The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the Mexican Baseball Federation and the respective Local Organizing Committee, announced the new dates of the 2020 WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup® and the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup in 2021, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and international travel restrictions.
The 2020 WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup will now be scheduled for 1-9 March 2021 in Tijuana, Mexico, while the next WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup will take place in Tijuana from 13-22 March.
The U-15 World Cup had been initially postponed to 30 October to 8 November, while the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup had been previously postponed to 12-21 November.
"Today's difficult decision means that for the first time since the founding of the International Baseball Federation in 1938, we will have no official international baseball competitions in a calendar year," said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. "We are especially disappointed for our athletes and National Federations, who were set to compete and shine in this year's Baseball World Cups.
"On behalf of the WBSC, I would like to thank Mexico's National Commission for Physical Culture and Sport (CONADE), PROBEIS, the Baja California Sports Institute (INDEBC) and our baseball officials in Mexico who remain dedicated to hosting and successfully delivering these world championship events."
With the postponement of the Women's and U-15 Baseball World Cups, all three of this year's Baseball World Cups, including the III WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup, will take place in Mexico in 2021, with the respective qualified teams and wild cards maintaining the right to compete.
WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup 2021
- Africa (1): South Africa
- Americas (6): Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, USA and Venezuela
- Asia (2): Chinese Taipei and Japan
- Europe (2): Germany and Italy
- Oceania (1): Guam
The USA Baseball U-15 National Team won the last U-15 World Cup in 2018, defeating host Panama in the Final.
WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup 2021
- Americas (4): Canada, Mexico, USA and Venezuela
- Asia (3): Defending World Cup Champion Japan, Chinese Taipei and Philippines,
- Europe (1) France
- Oceania (1): Australia
- Wild Card (3): Cuba, Dominican Republic and Netherlands
The Women's National Baseball Team of Japan has won the last six editions and will carry a 30-game World Cup winning streak into the global competition.
WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2021
- Africa (1): South Africa
- Americas (4): Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua
- Asia (3): Japan, Chinese Taipei and China
- Europe (2): Czech Republic and Germany
- Oceania (1): New Zealand
- Wild Card (1): Korea
The rescheduled dates of the next U-23 Baseball World Cup are 24 September to 3 October 2021 in the Mexican cities of Ciudad Obregon and Los Mochis.
Mexico won the last U-23 Baseball World Cup (Barranquilla 2018), marking Mexico's first-ever official world title in the sport of baseball.
About the World Baseball Softball Confederation
Headquartered in Pully, Switzerland -- adjacent to Lausanne, the Olympic Capital -- the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC has 211 National Federation and Associate Members in 138 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania, which represent a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes and attracts approximately 150 million fans to stadiums worldwide annually.
The WBSC governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Premier12, the World Baseball Classic and Baseball World Cups (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women's), and the Softball World Cups, (Men's, Women's, U-18 Men's, U-18 Women's and U-12 Mixed), and Baseball5 as well as Baseball, Softball and Baseball5 events at the Olympic Games.
For more information, visit www.wbsc.org, which is available in six languages: English, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Traditional Chinese.
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