FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2018

USA Softball launches the USA Softball International Cup; inaugural event to be held in Irvine, Calif.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Softball fans in Southern California will have the opportunity to catch the world’s best softball July 9-15 in Irvine, Calif. at the inaugural USA Softball International Cup. Following the launch of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) “Softball World Cup” flagship in place of World Championships<http://www.wbsc.org/wbsc-launch-new-softball-world-cup-flagship-brand/>, the USA Softball International Cup will take the place of the World Cup of Softball, which USA Softball has hosted since 2005.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming the top teams in the world and introducing the USA Softball International Cup,” said USA Softball Executive Director, Craig Cress. “We can’t wait to take this event to the West Coast and showcase the talents of these international teams. With all eyes on the softball world in anticipation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, we’re excited to once again televise select games through the ESPN networks and provide fans all across the United States the opportunity to watch the world’s best softball.”

With renovations expected to begin at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex, the USA Softball International Cup will be hosted by USA Softball of Southern California and games will be played at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, Calif. In addition to free online broadcasts of non-televised games through USASoftball.com, fans will also have the opportunity to catch Team USA in five televised games on the ESPN networks.

Teams expected to participate at the USA Softball International Cup, a WBSC-sanctioned event, include: No. 1 USA, No. 2 Japan, No. 3 Canada, No. 5 Chinese Taipei, No. 6 Puerto Rico, No. 7 Mexico, No. 10 Czech Republic, No. 12 China, No. 15 Philippines, No. 17 Venezuela, No. 19 Peru and No. 31 Colombia. Both USA Softball Women’s National Team rosters, which includes the WBSC World Championship and Japan All-Star Series rosters, are slated to compete in this event.

General Admission tickets ($15) and Stadium seating tickets ($25) are expected to go on sale in the coming weeks and links to purchase (when available) can be found on the tournament website at USASoftballInternationalCup.com<http://www.usasoftballinternationalcup.com>. A complete game schedule, including televised coverage, special promotions and autograph sessions, will be announced at a later date.

About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 69 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million. USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.

As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit,www.USASoftball.com<http://www.usasoftball.com/>.

About the World Baseball Softball Confederation
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.

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<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001wwUWAIEWrQOvYkAUJQce_bfWiIziwXlriIaZj9qMldOyzexE_To2LowU67TU7wF6ct0beQvIHZVqzdF5dsBKPZ_Wmf2uCS24S1ZLwWA_nL0omPMO3RGJFoqj1eHLxFuv-ml73dfDmv9BXLOE3a1IcRGDkSZnNRyb&c=ikpaqLMyCcSUWYfDsdRpLsGMJUFb5g5j37V3_bVKminzY4WfaM2IWg==&ch=tdkqWMSq9b-9Wq2wYN5AJTN0dLGeNNHlLF7bNi0m4LbaUz7RYlKU9A==>.


[cid:EF53E5B2-C52D-4400-886E-9EDC2AF7B648]
Codi Warren I Managing Director of Communications
USA Softball
2801 NE 50th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111
405-425-3431 (O)
Visit Us Online: USASoftball.com<http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball>

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