FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 16 January 2018
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Africa champion Botswana, 2nd Place South Africa qualify for 2018 WBSC Women's Softball World Championship in Japan
WBSC pushes global growth with African continental championship
PRETORIA, South Africa -- No. 33 Botswana and No. 35 South Africa have qualified to represent Africa at the 2018 WBSC Women's Softball World Championship in Chiba, Japan, in August.
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Developing the sport across the continent and elevating more African nations to compete at the Olympic level is an integral part of the World Baseball Softball Confederation's growth strategy for baseball/softball to remain an Olympic sport beyond 2020, while evolving from an emerging global sport of 200 million fans and athletes to an established global sport of 1 billion over the next decade.
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The successful staging of the WBSC Women's Softball World Championship Africa Qualifier in Pretoria, South Africa, is the latest milestone in a wave of steady growing popularity, new international competitions and development activities across the African continent.
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In the Final, Botswana defeated host South Africa, 15-1. WBSC allocates two spots for Africa in the Women's Softball World Championship.
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Zimbabwe topped Lesotho, 15-8, to claim 3rd Place in the four-nation continental championship.
WBSC also organised equipment distributions in conjunction with the African qualifier.
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Road to Chiba 2018
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Host: Japan
Africa: Botswana, South Africa Americas: Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, United States of America, Venezuela Asia:Â China, Chinese Taipei, Philippines Europe: Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands Oceania: To Be Determined
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No. 1 USA will enter Chiba as the defending world champions.
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2018 African Women's Softball Championship -- Results
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Botswana and South Africa both finished the double round-robin with five wins against one loss, suffering their lone loss to each other, to advance to the championship game:
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Friday, January 12, 2018
RSA |
16 |
0 |
ZIM |
BOT |
23 |
0 |
LES |
BOT |
15 |
0 |
ZIM |
LES |
1 |
27 |
RSA |
ZIM |
21 |
14 |
LES |
RSA |
9 |
5 |
BOT |
Saturday, January 13, 2018
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ZIM |
0 |
17 |
BOT |
RSA |
19 |
0 |
LES |
LES |
0 |
17 |
BOT |
ZIM |
0 |
17 |
RSA |
LES |
8 |
15 |
ZIM |
BOT |
5 |
0 |
RSA |
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Bronze |
ZIM |
15 |
8 |
LES |
Gold |
BOT |
15 |
1 |
RSA |
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About the World Baseball Softball ConfederationÂ
Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland -- the Olympic Capital -- the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC has 202 National Federation and Associate Members in 143 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.Â
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The WBSC governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Softball World Championships (Men, Women, U-19 Men, and U-19 Women), Premier12, World Baseball Classic, and Baseball World Cups (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women's).
For more information, visit: www.wbsc.org
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