Updated schedule released for WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup as Guam withdraws due to COVID restrictions

The World Baseball Softball Confederation today released an 11-team schedule for the upcoming WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup, which opens Friday, 29 July, at Tainan Asia-Pacific International Baseball Stadium in Tainan, Taiwan.

Oceania representative world No. 38 Guam was forced to withdraw from the VI U-12 Baseball World Cup due to COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions.

The WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup, a 12-team competition, will proceed as an 11-team official world championship tournament for the current edition, with no substitution permitted at this late stage:

Africa (1): No. 26 South Africa.
Americas (5): No. 4 Mexico, No. 5 USA, No. 6 Venezuela, No. 7 Dominican Republic and No. 13 Panama.
Asia (3): No. 1 Japan, defending World Champions No. 2 Chinese Taipei and No. 3 Korea
Europe (2): No. 14 Czech Republic and No. 17 Italy

Group A: Chinese Taipei, Mexico, Venezuela, Italy, South Africa, Panama
Group B: Japan, Korea, USA, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic

The Opening Round will consist of a total of five games per day. Powerhouses Mexico and Venezuela will officially open the competition in Game 1 at 10:30 a.m. local time.

Host Chinese Taipei will play against Italy at 6.30 pm local time to close the tournament's opening day.

After group play, the top three finishers from each group will advance to the Super Round, while the others will compete in the placement round. The second phase will run from 4 to 6 August.

The top two finishers of the Super Round will compete for the U-12 World title, while the third- and fourth-place teams play for the bronze medal. The finals are scheduled for Sunday, 7 August.

The U-12 Baseball World Cup is a unique international tournament. The WBSC is the only world governing body that sanctions an official world championship for this age bracket.

The inaugural U-12 Baseball World Cup took place in 2011. Only the United States (3 times) and Chinese Taipei (2 times) have won the U-12 Baseball World Cup, while Chinese Taipei has earned three silver medals, followed by Cuba and Japan (1). There have been five different bronze medallists: Venezuela, Japan, Nicaragua, Mexico and Cuba.

Taiwan has hosted each edition of the U-12 World Cup: Taipei City (2011, 2013) and Tainan (2015, 2017, 2019).

The city of Tainan will host the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup for three more editions: 2023, 2025 and 2027.

The current home of the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup, Tainan Asia-Pacific International Baseball Stadium and Training Centers in Tainan, is a first-of-its-kind facility designed specifically for the U-12 age bracket. It was built at US$130 million and opened on 30 July 2019.