WBSC hits Grand Slam year with record participation in 2024 season
The WBSC is set for an unprecedented season in 2024, with 34 national federations participating across 12 major events in Baseball, Softball and Baseball5 in addition to the second editions of the eBaseball Series, Blind Baseball International Cup and Baseball Champions League as well as the inaugural ePremier12.
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<p>As the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) continues its bumper season in 2024, the stage is set for 11 marquee events across Baseball, Softball as well as the fast-growing disciplines of Baseball5 and eSport. </p>
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<p>This year, a total of 34 National Federations (NFs) are set to participate in WBSC World Cups, showcasing baseball/softball’s global appeal and competitiveness. Add in the eBaseball Series, Blind Baseball International Cup and Baseball Champions League as well as the inaugural ePremier12 and the participation numbers in WBSC events this year are set to break all records.</p>
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<p>After celebrating World Baseball Softball Day on 10 May, the <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/calendar">WBSC events calendar</a> has gone into full swing. </p>
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<p>Packed with top-tier competitions, it includes the <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/organisation/wbsc-events/mens-softball-world-cup">WBSC Men's Softball World Cup 2024/2025</a> (Groups A, B, and C), the <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-womens-softball-world-cup-finals/home">WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals 2024</a>, the <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-vi-u15-baseball-world-cup/home">WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup 2024</a>, the <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/organisation/wbsc-events/u-18-womens-softball-world-cup">WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup 2024/2025</a> (Groups A, B, and C), the <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-ix-womens-baseball-world-cup-finals/home">WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Finals 2024 presented by CARNEXT</a>, the <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-v-u-23-baseball-world-cup/home">WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2024</a>, the <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-II-baseball5-world-cup/home">WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024</a>, and the <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-premier12/home">WBSC Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS</a>.</p>
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<p>Japan - currently No. 1 in the <a href="https://wbsc.org/en/rankings/baseball-m">WBSC/KONAMI men's</a> and <a href="https://wbsc.org/en/rankings/baseball-w">women's baseball world ranking</a>, as well as third, fourth and fifth in <a href="https://wbsc.org/en/rankings/softball-w">women's softball</a>, <a href="https://wbsc.org/en/rankings/softball-m">men's softball</a> and <a href="https://wbsc.org/en/rankings/baseball5-coed">Baseball5 rankings</a> - continues to showcase its strength in the 2024 WBSC season, participating in all events across all disciplines and representing both men's and women's teams. In the Group Stage of the Men's and U-18 Women's Softball World Cups, the Japanese teams are in Group C and Group B, respectively.</p>
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<p>The Netherlands follows closely with participation in six events, while Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chinese Taipei, the United States, and Venezuela each have five events in their schedule.</p>
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<p>While the VI U-15 Baseball World Cup 2024, V U-23 Baseball World Cup 2024, and the flagship event III Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS feature 12 teams each, the Men's and U-18 Women's Softball World Cups are structured into three groups, each hosted in different locations with six teams per group, to total 18 overall. </p>
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<p>Meanwhile, the XVII Women's Softball World Cup 2024 Finals, as the second stage of the competition after 18 teams participated in the Group Stage last year, features eight teams and the IX Women's Baseball World Cup 2024 Finals presented by CARNEXT includes six teams.</p>
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<p>Japan, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Chinese Taipei, and Venezuela lead in men's baseball participation with three teams each, while Japan, Australia, Canada and USA each field a team in the men's softball event and two teams in the women's softball events. </p>
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<p>The National Federations of Australia, Canada, Colombia, Czechia, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Chinese Taipei, USA and Venezuela are notable for having teams in both men's and women's events, reflecting their comprehensive development programmes across both genders. </p>
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<p>In other milestones, Australia and China will be making their debut at the II Baseball5 World Cup, while eBaseball Series continues to attract more players to WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS as it counts down to the ePremier12 at the end of the year.</p>
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<p>The 2024 WBSC season is set to be a Grand Slam year with record participation and a packed lineup of events. Make sure you don't miss any of the action: <a href="http://www.gametime.sport">www.gametime.sport</a></p>
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