WBSC reveals groups, schedule for Americas Softball qualifier after historic first-ever draw

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WBSC reveals groups, schedule for Americas Softball qualifier after historic first-ever draw

May 1, 2019

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - -Â Â WBSC reveals groups, schedule for Americas Softball qualifier after historic first-ever draw

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

View online:Â EnglishÂ EspaÃ±olÂ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- 29 APRIL 2019

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WBSC reveals groups, schedule for Americas Softball qualifier after historic first-ever draw

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) announced today the groups and a 42- game schedule for the WBSC Americas Softball Championship, qualification event for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020. For the first time in history WBSC staged a draw defining the composition of the Groups. The draw was held at the WBSC headquarters at the Olympic Capital, Laussane, Switzerland, and was live-streamed via YouTube. Â

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The 12 participating nations have learned their fate for this summer's WBSC Americas Softball Championship, on the road to Tokyo 2020.

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Host Canada will highlight Group A, along with world No. 4 Puerto Rico, No. 17 Cuba, No. 18 Guatemala, No. 25 Argentina, and No. 39 Bahamas.

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Group B will be led by No. 5 Mexico, joined by No. 16 Venezuela, No. 14 Brazil, No. 19 Dominican Republic, No. 20 Peru and No. 57 British Virgin Islands.

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"It is a big milestone for our organization, staging the first-ever draw for an official international baseball softball tournament; it's important to set groups by draw; this makes the process completely transparent", said WBSC President, Riccardo Fraccari. "Good luck to all the teams. It will be undoubtedly an interesting tournament, marking the first step in the road to Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games".Â

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The WBSC Americas Softball Championship, the last opportunity for the Americas teams to qualify to the Olympic Games, will start on Saturday 25 August in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, with all 12 teams in play. The five-day Opening Round will finish on 29 August, with the top three squads of each group advancing to the Super Round. Three days later, the two best nations in the Super Round will clinch their ticket to Tokyo 2020.

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The top two nations in the WBSC World Ranking, United States and Japan, are the only teams qualified for the historic softball return to the Olympic Programme in Tokyo (the US team for being WBSC World Champion 2018, and Japan as the host team of the Games). That's why USA won't be participating in this event.

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With the groups draw, the teams have also known their rivals for each day of competition; however the exact time of each game will be announced at a later date. Â

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Contact:Â media@wbsc.org.

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 208 National Federation and Associate Members in 135 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 Premier12, World Baseball Classic, Baseball World Cups, Softball World Cups and Softball World Championships,Â as well as baseball and softball events at the Olympic Games.

For more information, visitÂ www.wbsc.org, which is available six languages: English, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Traditional Chinese.