WBSC postpones 2021 Women's Softball World Cup to 2023 to keep spotlight on 2021 Olympics

May 4, 2020

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View Press Release online: English  

 

 

WBSC postpones 2021 Women's Softball World Cup to 2023 to keep spotlight on 2021 Olympics

The World Games will serve as the top international women's softball competition in 2022

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- 04 May 2020 -- The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today announced the postponement of the 2021 WBSC Women's Softball World Cup to 2023. In addition, the WBSC will recognise the 2022 World Games as the top women's international softball competition for 2022, with the winning team named world champion.

 

"With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the postponement of the Olympic Games to 2021 and the World Games to 2022, we wanted to ensure softball athletes had an opportunity for world-class competition in each of the next three years," said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. "We also wanted to do our part to best harmonise the international sports calendar and ensure the primary spotlight remains on the Olympic Games, particularly with how the Tokyo 2020 Games will now be seen as a universal symbol of hope and recovery."  

 

The World Games 2022 will be held from 7-17 July in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Women's softball is one of the 30 + sports to be featured during the 11-day multi-sport event. World No. 1 USA (host), No. 2 Japan (wild card), No. 3 Canada, No. 5 Mexico, No. 6 Chinese Taipei, No. 7 China and No. 8 Australia have qualified for the event through last year's Olympic Qualifiers. The winner of the European Championship 2020, which has been postponed due to the coronavirus, will join them and participate in the eight-team competition.

 

The next WBSC Women's Softball World Cup will be played in 2023, and every two years thereafter.

The WBSC Women's Softball World Cup was last held in Chiba, Japan, in 2018, and also served as an Olympic qualifier, with the USA Softball Women's National Team claiming the title and berth for Tokyo 2020.

 

Softball was last featured at the World Games in 2013, in Cali, Colombia.

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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.
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World Baseball Softball Confederation, Maison du Sport International, Av. de Rhodanie 54, Lausanne, 1007 Switzerland