Inaugural WBSC U-23 Men’s Softball World Cup hosting rights awarded to Argentina in 2023; Canada receive wild card

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) announced today that Argentina will host the I WBSC U-23 Men’s Softball World Cup, to be played at Nafaldo Cargnel Stadium in Parana, Argentina, from 15-23 April 2023. The WBSC Executive Board also awarded world No. 3 Canada the Wild Card to participate in the maiden edition of the tournament.

The event was originally scheduled to be played in Argentina in October, 2022 before being postponed. After opening a new bidding process to host the tournament, the WBSC Executive Board has awarded Argentina the hosting rights for this event in 2023.

Canada has been awarded the wild card to participate in the tournament, and join the 11 nations already qualified for the event in 2022 to complete the field of teams:

• Africa (1): World No. 11 South Africa
• Americas (4): World No. 1 Argentina, No. 8 Mexico, No. 9 Venezuela and No. 13 Guatemala
• Asia (2): World No. 2 Japan and No. 15 Singapore
• Europe (2): World No. 5 Czech Republic and No. 19 Israel
• Oceania (2): World No. 4 Australia and No. 6 New Zealand
• Wild Card (1): World No. 3 Canada

Due to the postponement of the event, the age limit for the tournament has been extended to allow all eligible players in 2022 to compete in the tournament in April next year.

The WBSC Softball World Cup portfolio - which includes Men’s, Women’s, U-18 Men’s, U-18 Women’s and U-12 Mixed Gender World Cups - will be completed in 2023 with this first edition of the U-23 Men’s Softball World Cup and the debut of the U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup, which will take place in Tokyo, Japan, from 19-30 October.