Parana, Argentina’s “National Softball Capital”, welcomes the softball world again

On Saturday, the softball world will have its eyes in Parana, Entre Rios, a South American city that has became one of the most important softball destinations in the world. Located 460 kms away from Buenos Aires, from 15-23 April, Parana will host the maiden edition of the WBSC U-23 Men’s Softball World Cup. 

The city, known as Argentina’s “National Softball Capital”, will host a softball world cup for the second time after the 2012 Junior Men’s Softball World Championship.

With more than 365,000 inhabitants, Parana is placed on the left shore of the Parana River, which gives the city its name, and is the capital of Entre Rios Province. 

The main venue for this tournament is the Nafaldo Cargnel Stadium, the biggest and most important softball diamond in the country.  

The stadium opened its doors on 4 November 1989 to host the Men’s Softball Pan American Championship. It was named after Nafaldo Cargnel, a softball pioneer in Parana in the late 60s and 70s who led softball’s institutional organization in Parana.

However, it wasn’t without its challenges. Facing a deep economic and political crisis in the country, the then Asociación Paranaense de Softbol President and now WBSC Softball Hall of Fame Member Victor Centurion played a key role to help building the stadium in time for the tournament.

The stadium has been the main stage of some of the most important regional and international events, like the 1995 Pan American Games, three Pan American Championships and the aforementioned World Cup in 2012. However, the WBSC U-23 Men’s Softball World Cup will be the biggest softball event in Argentina’s history.

After many renovations throughout the years, the Nafaldo Cargnel Stadium now features almost 400 roofed seats behind home plete and two multi-purposes buildings. The Local Organizing Committee has added temporary stands to allocate almost 4,000 softball fans.