Dear baseball and softball athletes, leaders, WBSC partners, media representatives, and fans around the world.
When I look back over what has been a
very successful and busy 12 months, I am filled with a sense of pride and major
achievement and am looking forward with great anticipation to what 2023 will
bring.
This time last year I was reflecting
on baseball and softball’s successful return to the Olympic Games at Tokyo
2020, the WBSC’s participation in the inaugural Olympic Virtual Series as well
as the staging of our first WBSC Baseball and Softball World Cups in nearly two
years following the pandemic. Now, we can look back proudly on a
full calendar of events in 2022, complete with fans in the stands.
This year has certainly been an historic year for our International Federation as it has seen the celebration of three very important and new WBSC events: the first Baseball5 Senior World Cup in Mexico, the first Virtual Cup with the final in Seoul as well as the inaugural Blind Baseball International Cup. Three events that have had great success and further increased the engagement and participation with our sport around the world.
The Baseball5
World Cup in-particular was amazing, surpassing even my highest expectations.
This fast-paced, dynamic, and youth-orientated sport has won the hearts and
minds of so many and opened the door to many more to engage with our sport. It
featured for the first time, three African Nations - Tunisia, South Africa and
Kenya all taking part in a WBSC World Cup. My congratulations to Tunisia for
making its WBSC World Cup debut in Mexico and becoming the 79th
nation/territory, and ninth African nation to feature in a WBSC event.
We are of
course looking forward to Baseball5’s debut at the Youth Olympic Games in
Dakar, 2026 as well as the first ever WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup in 2023,
which will enjoy a combination of sport and education in a festival setting to
help inspire future generations.
Always prioritising youth engagement, I was pleased to take our first steps on our eSport journey this year, with a dedicated eSports strategy including partnerships with leading companies in the industry, and the staging of the inaugural eSport event - ,the WBSC Virtual Cup – with our partner Newdin. With a record 8,146 entries, this dynamic and ground-breaking event is a perfect illustration of how the WBSC is adapting and innovating to reach new audiences and create new opportunities for people to engage with our sport.
Our impressive events calendar as well as the multi-sport events where baseball and softball are featured, demonstrate the worldwide popularity of our sport and how it adds important value and global appeal to the sporting landscape. It also reinforces our case for baseball and softball to be on the Olympic programme for LA28. Softball was so successful during The World Games this year, that the WBSC is confident that Men’s Softball can be added in the next edition of The World Games that will be staged in Chengdu, China in 2025.
Of course, this year we also had the
opportunity to be together for the first time since the pandemic at the WBSC
Congress in Taipei City. There, I had the honour of being re-elected as
President of the WBSC for the 2022-2029 term and having passed many milestones in
my first term, I am incredibly excited and enthusiastic about the journey
ahead. So, thank you for placing your trust in me again as we continue
to take our
sport to new levels and explore new opportunities.
The WBSC 2022-28 Strategic
Plan is a key tool in this process. Aligned with the IOC’s Agenda
2020+5, it will guide our united efforts to strengthen baseball-softball
globally while ensuring we lead the sport with integrity and focus.
We must now reflect and think not
only about 2023 but also make a careful analysis of the long-term objectives
that we must achieve, not being afraid to change what is no longer suited to
today's reality. The world has changed radically due to the pandemic, the
economy has suffered and is deeply affected by it. Habits and ways of working
have changed and therefore perhaps we too are involved in this process of
change. We must keep this in mind to continue to be at the forefront and know
how to anticipate changes, without instead having to react to them, as we have
done so far with impressive results for the development of baseball/softball.
Let’s build
the future of our sport together, leaving a legacy for future generations we
can all be proud of.
I take this opportunity to thank you
again for your support and I send you my warmest wishes for a wonderful holiday
season and for much happiness and continued success in the coming New Year.