WBSC Baseball5 Refugee Team wins school tournament in Jordan

Fast approaching the two year anniversary of the project, the WBSC Baseball5 Azraq Refugee Team participated in the "Learning by Playing and Human Rights" hosted at the Souf Sports Hall in Jerash city, situated in northern Jordan. 

Under the mantra: "Let us all join together to invest in sports education programmes as a means to support security and peace," a Baseball5 tournament was hosted with six participating teams and more than 350 people in attendance. 

The Azraq Refugee Team finished in first place, followed by five other teams - Blue, Balila, Meqbeleh, Souf Camp and Samma Club.

With schools in Jerash city recently including Baseball5 in their activities, this initiative began with Baseball5 learning exercises and training workshops for physical education teachers in Jerash Governorate on 2-3 December, with a total of 30 teachers involved.

“I would like to congratulate the Jordan Baseball Softball Federation for their dedication and commitment to develop our sport in the country, especially bringing the values of Baseball5 among the youth” commented the WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “To be able to embrace Baseball5 and deliver a national school tournament after only eight months from officially being recognised, is a remarkable achievement that the entire WBSC Family should celebrate."

The WBSC Azaq Refugee Team continues to promote Baseball5, cementing its legacy by providing hope and opportunity for displaced people through the urban discipline of Baseball5. The project was launched in January 2023 and will run through to December 2026 with the final goal to have a Refugee Team who will represent all refugees competing for a medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, the grass in the two Baseball5 fields was completely removed for maintenance and renovation at the Azraq Refugee camp in September. By November, the two fields were upgraded with new artificial grass and two additional Baseball5 fields were installed. The Baseball5 athletes enthusiastically participated in designing, planning and drawing the lines of fields, bringing the total number of Baseball5 fields in the camp to four.