Olympic softball schedule announced for Tokyo 2020 Games

March 12, 2020

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Olympic softball schedule announced for Tokyo 2020 Games
 
Softball will kick off Olympics with opener in Fukushima

 
LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- March 12, 2020 -- The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) today revealed the official Olympic softball game schedule, which will open on 22 July at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium and close with the gold medal game on 28 July at Yokohama Baseball Stadium.

Australia and defending Olympic softball champions Japan will kick off the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on 22 July, at 9 am (all times Japan Standard Time - JST). This match will serve as the very first official Olympic competition of the Tokyo 2020 Games.

 

In Game 2 of the Olympic softball event, Italy and top-ranked USA will meet at 12:00 pm.

Game 3, which concludes the first day of competition, features Mexico and Canada at 3 pm.


Spotlighting Fukushima's recovery

 

The first six games of the Olympic softball competition will be played in Fukushima, a region that has been undergoing a continued regeneration following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

"We are humbled and honoured that softball will open the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and do so in a city that embodies, more than any other, sport's unique power to unite and rebuild communities -- this will send a powerful message of Olympic values to all spectators around the world," said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. "And today with the announcement of the schedule for softball's return to the Olympic Games, the athletes will know the path to Olympic gold as they continue preparing to realise their Olympic dreams."

Road to Gold

All softball teams -- Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Mexico and USA -- will play each other once in the Opening Round (round-robin) from 22-27 July. The top two teams in the Opening Round will play for gold, while the third- and fourth- place teams will compete for bronze.

No games are scheduled for Friday, 24 July, with softball athletes to join their full delegations and participate in the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

The final three days (25-27 July) of the round-robin will be played at Yokohama Baseball Stadium, where the medal matches will also take place.

The Gold Medal Game will be played on Tuesday, 28 July, at 8 pm JST, while the Bronze Medal Game will be held at 1 pm JST.

The full 17-game Olympic softball schedule of the Tokyo 2020 Games can be found at https://olympicsoftball.wbsc.org/en/2020/e-2020-softball-olympic-games/schedule-and-results.

The Olympic baseball schedule will be announced in an upcoming news release.
 
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Contact: media@wbsc.org.
 
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 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 six languages: English, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Traditional Chinese.