Men’s Softball World Cup Africa qualifiers set to open in Pretoria, South Africa

Host South Africa and Kenya will open tomorrow (8 February) a five-game series in Pretoria for the honour of being the first qualified nation for the WBSC U-23 Men’s Softball World Cup, which is scheduled for 22-30 October in Parana, Argentina. The series will also crown the first-ever U-23 Men’s Softball African champion.

Kenya and South Africa will open the continental championship/World Cup qualifier with a pair of games on Tuesday, at 10:00 and 14:00 (local time) and close the series with three games on Wednesday (at 9:00, 12:00 and 15:00).

In the main event, three teams will compete in the men's qualifier/African championship. The winner will represent Africa at this year's WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup, scheduled for 26 November to 4 December in Auckland, New Zealand. 

Botswana, Kenya and South Africa will start with a double-round-robin (Thursday and Friday). The top team in the standings will advance directly to the final on Saturday at 15:00, while second- and third-place teams will face off in the semi-finals at noon on Saturday.

South Africa is the current No.10 in the WBSC Men’s Softball World Rankings, ahead of No. 18 Botswana. Kenya will earn its first-ever ranking points after these two events and will enter the Men’s Softball World Rankings for the first time in history.

In 2019, South Africa defeated Botswana, 4-2, the final of the African Men’s Softball Championship, with Lesotho finishing in third place. South Africa finished in 12^th place in the last WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship, while Botswana finished 14^th.