World Baseball Softball Confederation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
World Baseball Softball Confederation

Abbreviation	WBSC
Founded	14 April 2013; 12 years ago (2013-04-14)
Type	Sports federation
Legal status	Governing body of baseball, softball and Baseball5
Purpose	World governing body
Headquarters	Pully, Switzerland
Location	Av. du Général Guisan 45
Region served	Worldwide
Membership	141 national federations; 7 professional league "associate members"
Official language	English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean
President	Riccardo Fraccari
Main organ	Congress
Subsidiaries	WBSC Africa WBSC Americas WBSC Asia WBSC Europe WBSC Oceania
Affiliations	International Olympic Committee, ARISF, GAISF
Website	WBSC.org

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the main organization that runs the sports of baseball, softball, and Baseball5 around the world. It was created in 2013. This happened when two older groups, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and the International Softball Federation (ISF), joined together. Now, the IBAF and ISF work as special parts of the WBSC, focusing on baseball and softball.

The WBSC has members from 208 national groups in 141 countries. These countries are in Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. Even professional baseball teams and youth sports groups can join the WBSC. The main office of the WBSC is in Pully, Switzerland. In 2013, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially recognized the WBSC. This meant the WBSC was the only group in charge of baseball and softball globally.

As the official group for baseball, softball, and Baseball5, the WBSC is in charge of all big international games. They have the special right to organize all world championships and tournaments. This includes events like the Olympic Games. Groups linked to the WBSC also get to pick their national teams for these games.

Discussions about joining the baseball and softball groups started because they wanted to get their sports back into the Olympic Games. Baseball and softball were not in the 2012 Summer Olympics. They were planned to return for the 2020 Olympics. However, the 2020 Olympics were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, the IOC said that baseball and softball would not be in the 2024 Paris Olympics. But Baseball5 is still set to be part of the 2026 Youth Olympics.

History of WBSC

Flag of the WBSC

After baseball and softball were removed from the Summer Olympics in 2005, the IOC changed how it saw them. It decided they were two different parts of the same sport. The IOC said that for baseball and softball to return to the Olympics, they needed to be considered together. So, the two separate international groups for baseball and softball decided to merge.

In 2012, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and the International Softball Federation (ISF) started working together. They created a set of rules for their partnership. They also wrote a constitution to guide their merger and how they would run things. In April 2013, at a big IBAF meeting in Tokyo, this constitution was approved. The ISF had already agreed to it. This is how the WBSC officially started.

Creating one single organization helped baseball and softball work together globally. This merger quickly improved how the sports were managed. It also helped them become more popular worldwide and showed more equality between genders. These things are very important to the IOC when choosing Olympic sports.

At the first-ever World Baseball Softball Congress in Hammamet, Tunisia, Riccardo Fraccari from Italy was chosen as the first president of the WBSC. He was elected for a seven-year term. A full Executive Board was also elected at this meeting.

What is Baseball5?

A Baseball5 player hitting the ball.

In 2017, the WBSC added a new sport called Baseball5 (B5). It's a fast, fun game played with five players on each team. It only lasts five innings. You play it with just a rubber ball on a small field. The WBSC created B5 to reach more communities. It's also a cheap and quick way for new people to try baseball and softball. The WBSC hopes to have a billion people involved in baseball and softball by 2030.

A big difference in B5 is that there's no pitcher. The batter starts each play by hitting the ball. This game was inspired by street games in Latin America, like "cuatro esquinas" (four corners) in Cuba. B5 has been played in some international games in the Americas and Europe. It's also taught in schools in many countries. Baseball5 will be in the 2026 Youth Olympic Games. There are also two World Cups for youth and adult players. These happen every year, starting in 2022, and both are played with mixed-gender teams. The WBSC also plans to make a video game version of Baseball5 soon.

Coed Slow Pitch Softball

The WBSC Executive Board approved the first official Coed Slow Pitch World Cup on June 9. It was planned to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico, in December 2023. However, it was canceled in October 2023 due to some problems with planning.

How WBSC is Organized

The WBSC is run by an executive board. This board has fourteen members. These include the president, a secretary general, two vice presidents, and special vice presidents for baseball and softball. There's also a treasurer, four general members, and representatives for baseball and softball players. A global ambassador is also part of the board.

The Baseball Division has its own executive committee with thirteen members. The Softball Division has a larger executive committee with twenty-three members. These committees help manage the specific needs of each sport.

The WBSC also has four main departments: media, finance, tournaments, and marketing. They also have several smaller groups called commissions.

WBSC Members

Countries that are members of the WBSC.

Besides the main WBSC group, there are five regional groups. These groups manage baseball and softball in different parts of the world:

• WBSC Africa (28 members)
• WBSC Americas (58 members)
• WBSC Asia (34 members)
• WBSC Europe (54 members)
• WBSC Oceania (24 members)

In total, the WBSC works with 198 national groups. This includes 132 national baseball teams and 122 women's national teams.

The WBSC also has "associate members." These are professional baseball and softball leagues that work with the WBSC. They help make baseball and softball popular sports in their countries. Some of these leagues include:

WBSC Presidents

The WBSC has had several presidents since it started. Here is a list of the presidents of the WBSC and its earlier organizations:

No	Name	Country	Org.	Took office	Left office
1	Leslie Mann	United States	IBF	1938	1939
2	Jaime Mariné	Cuba		1940	1943
3	Jorge Reyes	Mexico	FIBA	1944	1945
4	Pablo Morales	Venezuela		1946	1947
5	Chale Pereira	Nicaragua		1948	1950
—	Pablo Morales	Venezuela		1951	1952
6	Carlos Manuel Zecca	Costa Rica		1953	1968
7	Juan Isa	Netherlands Antilles		1969	1975
—	William Fehring	United States	FEMBA	1973	1974
—	Carlos García Solórzano	Nicaragua		1975
8	Manuel González Guerra	Cuba	AINBA	1976	1979
—	Carlos García Solórzano	Nicaragua		1980	1981
9	Robert Smith	United States	IBAF	1981	1993
10	Aldo Notari	Italy		1993	2006
11	Harvey Schiller	United States		2007	2009
12	Riccardo Fraccari	Italy		2009	Incumbent
			WBSC

WBSC Competitions

The WBSC organizes many exciting competitions for baseball, softball, and Baseball5. These events bring together teams from all over the world.

Baseball Tournaments

Men's Baseball

• World Baseball Classic
• WBSC Premier12
• Olympic baseball tournament
• U-23 Baseball World Cup (for players under 23)
• U-18 Baseball World Cup (for players under 18)
• U-15 Baseball World Cup (for players under 15)
• U-12 Baseball World Cup (for players under 12)

Women's Baseball

• Women's Baseball World Cup

Softball Tournaments

Men's Softball

• Men's Softball World Cup
• U-23 Men's Softball World Cup (for players under 23)
• U-18 Men's Softball World Cup (for players under 18)

Women's Softball

• Women's Softball World Cup
• Olympic softball tournament
• U-18 Women's Softball World Cup (for players under 18)
• U-15 Women's Softball World Cup (for players under 15)

Mixed Softball

• U-12 Softball World Cup (for players under 12)

Baseball5 Tournaments

• Baseball5 World Cup
• Youth Baseball5 World Cup
• Summer Youth Olympics

WBSC World Rankings

The WBSC keeps track of how well national teams perform in their competitions. They create world rankings for men's baseball, men's softball, women's baseball, women's softball, and Baseball5. These rankings show which teams are currently the best in the world.

Men's Baseball Rankings

Top 20 Rankings as of 18 December 2023

Rank	Change	Team	Points
1		JPN	5797
2		MEX	4764
3		USA	4492
4		KOR	4353
5		TPE	4170
6		VEN	3975
7		NED	3288
8		CUB	3121
9		DOM	2667
10		PAN	2534
11		AUS	2367
12		PUR	2355
13		COL	2105
14		ITA	1939
15		CZE	1900
16		CAN	1397
17		GER	1223
18		GBR	1142
19		ISR	1086
20		NCA	1021
*Change from 31 December 2021

Men's Softball Rankings

Top 20 Rankings as of 26 April 2023

Rank	Change	Team	Points
1		Argentina	4224
2	2	Australia	3551
3		Japan	3451
4	2	Canada	3358
5		United States	2655
6		Czech Republic	2526
7		New Zealand	2280
8		Venezuela	2133
9		Cuba	1807
10		Mexico	1775
11		Denmark	1069
12	2	Singapore	994
13		Guatemala	934
14	2	South Africa	894
15		Philippines	623
16		Netherlands	412
17	4	Israel	339
18	1	Botswana	253
19	1	Dominican Republic	221
20	1	Chinese Taipei	192
*Change from 31 May 2022

Women's Baseball Rankings

Top 20 Rankings as of 22 September 2023

Rank	Change	Team	Points
1		Japan	970
2		Chinese Taipei	841
3	2	Venezuela	581
4		United States	510
5	7	Mexico	496
6	3	Puerto Rico	490
7	4	Hong Kong	451
8	5	Canada	428
9	1	South Korea	413
10	3	Cuba	350
11	3	Philippines	324
12	3	China	277
13	5	Australia	264
14	2	France	180
15	3	India	177
16	3	Pakistan	115
17		Indonesia	109
18	12	Dominican Republic	72
19		Thailand	68
20		Czech Republic	56
*Change from 11 August 2021

Women's Softball Rankings

Top 20 Rankings as of 10 November 2023

Rank	Change	Team	Points
1		United States	4301
2		Japan	2899
3		Puerto Rico	2815
4	1	Chinese Taipei	2573
5	1	Canada	1885
6	2	Italy	1816
7	1	Mexico	1684
8	1	Netherlands	1602
9	1	Czech Republic	1483
10	3	Australia	1379
11	3	Cuba	953
12		Spain	950
13		Great Britain	936
14	7	Philippines	898
15	4	China	845
16	2	Peru	771
17	2	Venezuela	770
18	1	Israel	725
19	1	Germany	646
20	2	France	624
*Change from 31 December 2021

Baseball5 (Coed) Rankings

Top 20 Rankings as of 16 November 2023

Rank	Change	Team	Points
1	1	France	3037
2	1	Chinese Taipei	2775
3		Cuba	2393
4		Tunisia	1995
5	5	Lithuania	1892
6	1	Japan	1639
7	1	South Africa	1593
8	1	Mexico	1560
9	1	South Korea	1442
10	1	Ghana	1219
11	5	Italy	1194
12	7	Netherlands	1179
13	2	Turkey	1144
14	2	Kenya	1046
15	2	China	1030
16	7	Belgium	952
17	3	Romania	905
17	3	Venezuela	905
19	2	Czech Republic	885
20	5	Malaysia	842
*New Rankings

See also

In Spanish: Confederación Mundial de Béisbol y Sóftbol para niños

• Baseball awards § International
• Softball at the Summer Olympics
• Baseball at the Summer Olympics