International Softball executives have revealed a global spread of sixteen National Teams — the maximum allowed — for the XIV Women’s Softball World Championship that will be historically staged for the first time in Europe — in Haarlem, Netherlands from 15-24 August — with ticket sales for the event having already passed the halfway point to being sold-out.
Japan, which won the gold at the 2012 XIII Softball World Championship, will be joined in Haarlem by China and Chinese Taipei to represent Asia.
Botswana, which represented Africa in the 2013 Youth (Under-19) Women’s Softball World Championship, will head to Haarlem on behalf of Africa.
The Americas will send five representatives: Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and 2012 silver medalist United States.
Europe, along with the Americas, will have the greatest representation at the Women’s Softball World Championship, with the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Italy, host Netherlands and Russia all set to converge in Haarlem.
Oceania will be represented by 2012 bronze medal winner Australia and New Zealand.
For the first time in history, the Women’s Softball World Championship will be celebrated in Europe, and with still nearly six months to go before the opening ceremony, the Local Organising Committee in Haarlem is reporting that ticket availability is already more than halfway to being completely sold-out, and that online ticket sales are being driven chiefly by outside countries.
The WBSC Secretary General, Ms. Beng Choo Low, who recently led a site inspection in Haarlem, said: “The [Local Organising Committee] is doing a superlative job in building the profile of Europe’s first Women’s Softball World Championship and is readying the world stage to provide an exciting platform for the athletes from the sixteen National Teams and for the many fans from all over the world who will come to Haarlem to see them.
“The Softball World Championship provides a dedicated international platform for women athletes to shine and be the focus of sport, and the ticket sales being generated for this world event highlights the spectator interest, and the power and potential of softball as a promoter of women’s sport, helping shape a sporting world that is more balanced and relevant to women.
“I am confident the historic first-ever Women’s World Championship in Europe will further deepen baseball and softball’s collective global footprint, especially in Europe, and will deliver an excellent showpiece in women’s sport — leaving a truly unique and lasting legacy for the city of Haarlem.”
The expected influx of visitors to Haarlem for the Women’s Softball World Championship is set to provide a boost to the local economy, giving further arguments that women’s sports — and a popular women’s sport like softball — are increasingly growing into viable, valuable and stand-alone products with which to showcase a city and a nation as an international sports centre and tourist destination.
Another flagship event, the 2013 World Cup of Softball, which was won by Japan, attracted strong interest amongst audiences and spectators worldwide, with ESPN broadcasting the tournament across its family of networks for coverage in more than 140 countries.
