Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador named Global Ambassador of Baseball

MEXICO CITY — The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, accepted the role as Global Ambassador of Baseball, following a meeting with World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) President Riccardo Fraccari today at the National Palace in Mexico’s capital. López Obrador’s appointment as Global Ambassador of Baseball generated major headlines across the nation.

In his role as a WBSC Global Ambassador of Baseball, President López Obrador will support the global growth of baseball, particularly with regard to elevating baseball’s status to a permanent Olympic sport.

Nos visitó Riccardo Fraccari, presidente de la Confederación Mundial de Béisbol y Softbol (WBSC) pic.twitter.com/vsf8DTijhw

— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) February 13, 2019

“I accept this role as a Global Ambassador of Baseball,” said President López Obrador. “Baseball is global, and we are going to defend this sport.”

WBSC President Fraccari said: “Baseball’s worldwide profile has never been stronger than it is today and having such an important figure like President López Obrador as a WBSC Global Ambassador of Baseball is another major step into evolving baseball into a major global sport as well as a sport that is played at each edition of the Olympic Games.”

WBSC President Fraccari presented Mexican President López Obrador with the trophy of the flagship Premier12 2019, the year’s top international baseball event which is a qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. An opening round of the Premier12 will be staged in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, this November.