LAUSANNE – Officials at the International Baseball Federation have confirmed they will announce the full list of countries that will participate in the II 15U IBAF Baseball World Cup in Baja California Sur this summer.
The announcement is expected to be one of various made tomorrow (Tues, 29 April) on the 15U Baseball World Cup.
Awaiting results from Oceania, international baseball officials had previously revealed only fourteen of the sixteen countries in February:
- Americas (6): Brazil, Cuba (2012 U-15 silver), Mexico, Panama, United States and Venezuela.
- Europe (4): Czech Republic, Italy, Germany and Lithuania.
- Asia (3): Chinese Taipei (2012 U-15 bronze), Hong Kong and Japan.
- Africa (1): South Africa.
Due to the growing attraction and prestige of the 15U Baseball World Cup, IBAF National Member Federations have been putting pressure on the world’s governing body to expand the event to include more countries.
Officials from the IBAF office in Lausanne recently visited Baja California Sur to inspect the venues and meet with the governor of Baja California Sur, the mayor of Los Cabos, the president and secretary general of the Mexican Baseball Federation and other state officials to explore whether the hosts could accommodate more countries.
Launched by IBAF in 2012, the 15U (ages 13-15) youth Baseball World Cup has established itself as the premier international baseballevent for this youth age category, with the best under-15 baseball players in the world representing their countries on their National Teams every two years.
In February, IBAF President Riccardo Fraccari commented on baseball’s stronghold and positioning in the youth sports market.
“While the sporting world is beginning to shift its focus to the youth/lifestyle demographic, the IBAF is proud to already be one of the only organisers – if not the only organiser – of U-15 and U-12 world championships in all of sport, and we are committed to connecting with more and more youth and growing the brand of our youth properties aggressively.”
All IBAF Baseball World Cups are taken into consideration for the overall IBAF World Rankings.
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