The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the international governing body for the sports of baseball, softball, baseball5 and blind baseball. It was established in 2013 by the merger of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and International Softball Federation (ISF). Under the WBSC's organizational structure, the IBAF and ISF serve as the confederation's baseball and softball divisions, respectively. Each division is governed by an executive committee, while the WBSC is governed by an executive board.
The WBSC has 208 National Federation members in 141 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. Professional baseball organizations as well as youth organizations are also included and form an arm of the WBSC as associate members. Headquartered in Pully, Switzerland, the WBSC was granted recognition as the sole competent global authority for both the sports of baseball and softball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2013.
As the recognised governing body of baseball, softball, and Baseball5, the WBSC is charged with overseeing all international competitions. It holds the exclusive rights of all competitions, tournaments and world championships featuring national teams, including the Olympic Games, and WBSC-associated federations hold the right to organize and select national teams
Discussions to merge the two separate world governing bodies for the sports of baseball and softball were sparked by a Memorandum of Understanding that saw baseball and softball leaders agree to form a joint bid to be added to the 2020 Olympic Games sports program. Baseball and softball were dropped from the 2012 Summer Olympic program and were scheduled to be reinstated for the 2020 Olympics, but the 2020 Olympics were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, the IOC announced that baseball and softball would not be part of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Baseball5 is still set to feature in the 2026 Youth Olympics.
History
Following its exclusion of baseball and softball from the Summer Olympics in 2005, the IOC reclassified baseball and softball as two disciplines of the same sport. As the IOC's guidance indicated the necessity for baseball and softball to be jointly considered for reinstatement in the Olympic programme, the two independent International Federations set out on a path toward a full and complete merger.
In 2012, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and the International Softball Federation (ISF) laid out the essential ground rules for partnership and began working on a constitution that would guide the merger and provide a framework for governance, ethics and operations. At a historic IBAF Congress in Tokyo in April 2013, the Constitution was ratified and since it had already been approved by an ISF working group empowered to do so, the WBSC was officially formalized and empowered.
The creation of a single federation allowed for the permanent alignment, merger and management of baseball and softball at the world level. The merger resulted in an immediate boost to the governance, universality and gender equality of baseball and softball, criteria for an Olympic sport that are heavily valued by the IOC.
At the first-ever World Baseball Softball Congress—in Hammamet, Tunisia—Italy's Fraccari was elected to a seven-year term as the first president of WBSC, along with a fully elected Executive Board.
Creation of Baseball5
In 2017, the WBSC introduced a third discipline to be played at an international level, Baseball5 (B5), which is a five-on-five, five-inning game designed to be played with only a rubber ball on a small field. It is targeted at underserved communities, as well as offering a low-cost and fast-paced entry point to baseball and softball in new places around the world. The WBSC introduced it to aid its ultimate goal of having a billion-strong baseball-softball community by 2030. A major difference between B5 and baseball/softball is that the game is played without a pitcher, with the batter starting each play with the ball. It was inspired by various Latin American street games, such as "cuatro esquinas" (four corners) in Cuba, and has been played in some international tournaments in the Americas and Europe, as well as having been implemented in some schools in various countries. It is due to feature in the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and has two World Cups for youth and senior players alternating each year starting in 2022, with both of these international events being played in a mixed-gender format. The WBSC is also planning to, as part of its general push into E-Sports, introduce a video game version of Baseball5 in the near future.
Coed slow pitch softball The first official WBSC Coed Slow Pitch World Cup was greenlit on 9 June 2022, during a meeting by the WBSC Executive Board in Pully, Switzerland. It was to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico in December 2023, but it was cancelled in October 2023 due to logistical challenges.
Organizational structure The WBSC is governed by the executive board, which consists of fourteen members: president, secretary general, two vice presidents, baseball executive vice president, softball executive vice president, treasurer, four members at large, athlete representative for baseball, athlete representative for softball, and global ambassador.
The Baseball Division is governed by an executive committee, which has thirteen members: president, secretary general, 2nd vice president, 3rd vice president, treasurer, three members at large, four continental vice presidents (one each for Africa, Americas, Europe, and Oceania), and executive director.
The Softball Division is governed by an executive committee that has twenty-three members: president, secretary general, 1st vice president, 2nd vice president, treasurer, twelve vice presidents (two each for Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Oceania, and one each for North America and English-speaking Caribbean), two at-large members, two athlete representatives, immediate past president, and executive director.
The WBSC has four departments: media, finance, tournaments, and marketing. It also has several commissions.
Members
Besides its worldwide institutions, there are five regional governing bodies that oversee the game in the different continents and regions of the world.
WBSC Africa (28 members) WBSC Americas (58 members) WBSC Asia (34 members) WBSC Europe (54 members) WBSC Oceania (24 members)
Team Region League Americas LIDOM Americas LMB LMP Americas LBPRC Americas AAAABC ABO BRL PONY Americas LVBP Asia CPBL Asia NPB Asia KBO Europe AFBS Europe AIBxC
In total, WBSC recognizes 198 national associations, with 132 national baseball teams as well as 122 women's national teams.
Unlike the ICC, the WBSC identifies associate members as those who particularly endorse international baseball and softball with their own leagues in partnership with the WBSC. These leagues support baseball and softball to the extent that they are major sports in their respective countries. The table to the right has all leagues along with the country hosted:
Presidents No Name Country Org. Took office Left office 1 Leslie Mann IBF 1938 1939 2 Jaime Mariné 1940 1943 3 Jorge Reyes FIBA 1944 1945 4 Pablo Morales 1946 1947 5 Chale Pereira 1948 1950 — Pablo Morales 1951 1952 6 Carlos Manuel Zecca 1953 1968 7 Juan Isa 1969 1975 — William Fehring FEMBA 1973 1974 — Carlos García Solórzano 1975 8 Manuel González Guerra AINBA 1976 1979 — Carlos García Solórzano 1980 1981 9 Robert Smith IBAF 1981 1993 10 Aldo Notari 1993 2006 11 Harvey Schiller 2007 200912 Riccardo Fraccari 2009 Incumbent WBSC
Tournaments
Baseball Men's Olympic baseball tournament World Baseball Classic WBSC Premier12 U-23 Baseball World Cup U-18 Baseball World Cup U-15 Baseball World Cup U-12 Baseball World Cup
Women's Women's Baseball World Cup
Softball Men's Men's Softball World Cup U-23 Men's Softball World Cup U-18 Men's Softball World Cup Women's Olympic softball tournament Women's Softball World Cup Softball at the World Games U-18 Women's Softball World Cup U-15 Women's Softball World Cup Mixed U-12 Softball World Cup
Baseball5 Mixed Summer Youth Olympics Baseball5 World Cup Youth Baseball5 World Cup Word Games
Reigning title holders
Competition Year Host country / region Champions Title Runners-up Next edition DatesBaseballWorld Baseball Classic2026United States1stTBD WBSC Premier12 2024 Japan 1st 2027 Olympic baseball tournament 2020 Japan 1st 2028 13–19 July 2028 U-23 Baseball World Cup 2024 China 3rd 2026 6–15 November 2026 U-18 Baseball World Cup 2025 Japan 11th 2027 U-15 Baseball World Cup 2026 Mexico 8th 2028 U-12 Baseball World Cup 2025 Taiwan 6th 2027 Women's Baseball World Cup 2024 Canada 7th 2027 2026 (group stage)2027 (finals)Softball Men's Softball World Cup 2025 Canada 1st 2029 2028 (group stage)2029 (finals) U-23 Men's Softball World Cup 2026 Colombia 1st 2030 U-18 Men's Softball World Cup 2023 Mexico 4th 2027 Women's Softball World Cup 2024 Italy 4th 2027 2026 (group stage)2027 (finals) U-18 Women's Softball World Cup 2025 United States 9th 2029 U-15 Women's Softball World Cup 2025 Italy 1st 2027 U-12 Softball World Cup 2021 Taiwan 2nd TBD Olympic softball tournament 2020 Japan 2nd 2028 23–29 July 2028Baseball 5 Baseball5 World Cup 2024Hong Kong Cuba2nd Japan 2026 9–13 December 2026 Youth Baseball5 World Cup 2025 Mexico Cuba 2nd Chinese Taipei 2027 Youth Olympic Games 2026 30 October–3 November 2026Club Baseball Champions League Americas 2026 Mexico Kane County Cougars 1st Diablos Rojos del México Baseball Champions League Europe 2026 Czech Republic Parma 1st Neptunus
World Rankings
Men's baseball
Men's softball
Women's baseball
Women's softball
Baseball5 (Coed)
See also
Softball at the Summer Olympics Baseball at the Summer Olympics Major achievements in baseball and softball by nation
Notes
References
External links