World Baseball Softball President Issues End-of-year Address

Compartir
Compartir articulo

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) President Riccardo Fraccari today issued the following end-of-the-year address on behalf of the sport:

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

This past year showed that baseball and softball continue to gloablise, with the highest number of countries ever represented in the WBSC World Rankings. This is a strong and positive indication of the global activity and practice of our sport, which stages among the most, if not the most, national team international competitions per year than of any other sport.

Further signaling our sport's global advancement and health, new baseball-softball and/or new urban Baseball5 construction projects have been announced or completed this year in Asia, Americas, Africa and Europe, in such places as France, Mozambique, Romania, Spain, Switzerland and Tanzania, as well as Argentina and Colombia in South America, to cite a few. Focusing on our mission to reach a billion people over the next decade, the past year had a particular focus on development. To this end, the launch our new urban 5-on-5 street discipline Baseball5 has witnessed interest and adoption behind our expectations, and for which we are going to present new exciting competitions and development opportunities for our members.

Over the last 12 months, baseball and softball grown stronger together, with mergers at the continental level. European leaders launched WBSC Europe and leaders in Oceania established WBSC Oceania, with a shared vision to boost growth, streamline administration and oversee all disciplines across their respective territories. The Softball Confederation of Asia rebranded into Softball Asia.

Putting this continued evolution into perspective, baseball/softball is the biggest sport that is not permanently a part of the Olympic Games. In this regard, we will continue to listen and learn from the International Olympic Committee to ensure that our sport aligns with and propagates Olympic values, following the guiding principles of the Olympic Agenda 2020 of IOC President Thomas Bach.

2019 will be the biggest and most important years in the history of international baseball and softball with our many international competitions leading to our flagship ever Premier12, which will build toward the historic return of our sport at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Softball in Fukushima will be the opening competition for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and we must do everything we can from now until 2020 to support and show our solidarity with the IOC and Tokyo 2020 and their vision of harnessing the power of sport to bring hope, inspiration and joy to people in extremely challenging situations, not only in Fukushima but all over the world.

I congratulate everyone involved in the sport of baseball and softball -- especially the athletes who are the stars who inspire the next generations to play and watch our sport -- for growing our sport to record levels in 2018 and setting the stage for another record year next year.

And, on behalf of the WBSC Executive Board, the staff and in my name personally I take this opportunity to wish you all a serene holiday season."

Riccardo Fraccari

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only

Recent Articles

The Friendship Games organized against Russia against the IOC will have the participation of 70 countries

The World Friendship Games (WFG) will feature competitions in 36 sports and will award 283 medals to the winners. The Russian Government announced that a press conference will soon be held to present them with more details and clarified that the invitations to participate are addressed to athletes and not to countries.
The Friendship Games organized against Russia against the IOC will have the participation of 70 countries

Clues about the pebetero: it will not be in the stadium but in the middle of Paris and in public view

From France, information indicates that the site chosen for the Olympic fire to be lit since July 26 would be the emblematic Tuileries Garden. Official sources did not confirm the fact, but they recognize the idea that it is located in the heart of Paris and in full view of fans.
Clues about the pebetero: it will not be in the stadium but in the middle of Paris and in public view

Nearly a thousand boats will welcome the torch in France

The parade in the Mediterranean will be minutes before disembarkation at the Old Port of Marseille; they must meet certain requirements and apply to participate.
Nearly a thousand boats will welcome the torch in France

France says it will “be ready” to ensure safety at the Olympic Games while raising the alert level

The attack in Moscow threatened the whole of Europe and security in Paris is once again in the spotlight, just four months after the parade of delegations on the Seine River.
France says it will “be ready” to ensure safety at the Olympic Games while raising the alert level

Will Paris 2024 have its red carpet?

Although all the expectations for July 26 are set on an opening ceremony that promises to be extraordinary, it is likely that, in the hour before the party, the world will attend a parade of luminaries from sports, arts and entertainment.
Will Paris 2024 have its red carpet?