20/09/2023 2 Minute Read

WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup 2023: Cuba v China to open inaugural Youth Baseball5 edition in Türkiye as groups & schedule confirmed

The 50-game tournament, which will take place from 10-15 October, will be Türkiye’s first international baseball/softball event. Twelve teams will participate including Ghana, who will become the 80th country/territory to participate in a WBSC World Cup.

Cuba, the first ever WBSC Baseball5 World Cup champions and China, who finished second at the WBSC Asia Youth Baseball5 qualifier, have the honour to open the WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup on 10 October in the city of history and civilisation, Ankara, Türkiye following the unveiling of the schedule for the tournament.

Twelve teams, including Ghana who will become the 80th country/territory to participate in a WBSC World Cup, will gather at the modern sports complex in the Yenimahalle metropolitan district to take part in the historic youth event. As in last year’s senior Baseball5 World Cup, three countries and regions from Africa will take part while Australia will represent Oceania in its debut in an international Baseball5 tournament.

Africa (2) - No. 4 Tunisia, No.13 Ghana
Americas (2) - No. 6 Cuba, No. 12 Mexico
Asia (3) - No. 1 Chinese Taipei, China, No. 8 South Korea
Europe (2) - No. 2 France, No. 4 Türkiye
Oceania (1) – Australia
Wild Card (2) – No. 17 Zambia, No, 18 Malaysia

The tournament will start with a group stage, with two groups of six teams formed based on the results of continental events:

Group A: China, Cuba, Malaysia, Tunisia, Türkiye and Zambia

Group B: Australia, France, Ghana, Korea, Mexico and Chinese Taipei

The compact six-day tournament will start from 10 to 12 October with the Opening Round of 10 games per day, starting at 9:30 (local time) on Day 1 and at 10:00 on Day 2 and Day 3. The afternoon session resumes at 15:30 throughout the Opening Round.

The 30-game Opening Round will conclude on 12 October, with the top three finishers from each group advancing to the Super Round, while the other six teams will participate in the Placement Round.

The top two teams from the Super Round on 13 and 14 October will compete for the title of Youth Baseball5 World Champions, while the third and fourth placed teams will play for the bronze medal. The World Championship Finals are scheduled on 15 October at midday, preceded by the Bronze Medal Game at 10:00.

The Opening Ceremony will take place at 18:30 on 10 October, just before the game between the hosts Türkiye and Zambia, who have improved their ranking from 28th to 17th since the end of last year. Chinese Taipei, who top the WBSC Baseball5 World Rankings, will play Australia just before the Opening Ceremony at 17:00.

The first edition of the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup was held in 2022 in the heart of Mexico City, in El Zocalo, and the second edition is scheduled for 2024. After the inaugural Youth Baseball5 World Cup in Türkiye, the second edition is set for 2026, which will serve as a qualifier for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.