Groups, schedule revealed for WBSC Women's Softball World Championship 2018 in Chiba, Japan

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Groups, schedule revealed for WBSC Women's Softball World Championship 2018 in Chiba, Japan

May 9, 2018

Chiba, Japan - - Â Groups, schedule revealed for WBSC Women's Softball World Championship 2018 in Chiba, Japan

World Baseball Softball Confederation, MaisonÂ duÂ SportÂ International, Av.Â deÂ RhodanieÂ 54,Â Lausanne,Â 1007Â Switzerland

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Groups, schedule revealed for WBSC Women's Softball World Championship 2018 in Chiba, Japan

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The World Baseball Softball Confederation today revealed the groups and schedule for the XVI WBSC Women's Softball World Championship 2018, which will be staged in Chiba, Japan, from 2-12 August.

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The softball global flagship competition will feature 73 games across 10 days of competition.

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The 30,000-seat Chiba Marine Stadium, home of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) club Chiba Lotte Marines, will host the Playoffs and Finals, while NASPA Stadium, Akitsu Stadium and ZETT A Ball Park will host the Preliminary and Consolation Rounds.

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The top nation in Chiba will claim the first of five available softball spots for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, where Softball Japan is automatically qualified.

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"The Women's Softball World Championship in Chiba will be an exciting and challenging 73-game top-tier global competition," said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. "The stakes will be extremely high with the tournament awarding one nation a ticket to be a part softball's historic Olympic return at the Tokyo 2020 Games -- this is where softball's Road to Tokyo 2020 begins."

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The 16 participating nations -- representing the five Olympic continents -- have been drawn into two groups.

Click to view/download Groups and Schedule

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Group A: No. 1 United States (defending WBSC Women's Softball World Champions), No. 5 Chinese Taipei, No. 6 Puerto Rico, No. 7 Mexico, No. 8 Netherlands, No. 11 New Zealand, No. 15 Philippines and No. 35 South Africa.

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Group B: No. 2 Japan, No. 3 Canada, No. 4 Australia, No. 9 Italy, No. 12 China, No. 14 Great Britain, No. 17 Venezuela and No. 33 Botswana.

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Following the Opening Ceremony on 2 August at 18:30 local time, Japan and Italy will officially open the tournament.

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The top four finishers from each group will advance to the double page playoff round. Nations not advancing will compete in the placement round.

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The World Championship Finale will take centre stage on 12 August at 19:00, following the bronze medal match at 14:00.

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Japanese convenience store giant Lawson has been named the official ticketing site of the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup 2018 Chiba. Ticket sales within Japan launched today, while global sales will be begin on Saturday, 19 May.

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To view the full schedule of the WBSC Women's Softball World Championship 2018, visitÂ http://www.wbsc.org/tournaments/2018-womens-softball-world-championship/schedule-and-results.

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For media inquiries, contactÂ media@wbsc.org,Â @WBSC.

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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 representÂ a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes and attracts approximately 150 million fans to stadiums worldwideÂ annually.Â

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The WBSC governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Softball World Cups, 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, visitÂ www.wbsc.org, which is available six languages: English, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Traditional Chinese.