Membership

Following the merger of International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and International Softball Federation (ISF) as one governing body for the sport of baseball/softball and all related disciplines of the sport, the WBSC has a total of 190 NFs as Affiliated Members and 14 organisations as Associated Members from over 136 countries in all 5 continents. For the list of NFs and its leadership, refer to the WBSC Members section. The list of NFs should be sorted by continent, discipline and alphabetical order of NOC by IOC Country Code.

As per the WBSC Statutes article 6.1, the Members can be either baseball NF, softball NF, or combined NF: the recognised national or territorial sports bodies governing baseball or softball, or those single bodies jointly governing baseball or softball, shall be eligible for membership in WBSC as a National Federation if qualified, or such other condition of membership as may be established by the Executive Board.
The Member must:

• be a separate legal entity under the laws of the country or territory in which it is organised;
• be a charitable, public service, or not-for-profit entity having its purpose the advancement of the sport, with the managerial and financial capability to plan and execute its obligations;
• not discriminate in its membership policies;
• be governed by a board whose members are selected without discrimination;
• provide and enforce proper procedures for the prompt and equitable resolution of grievances of its members, providing due process in all instances.

As article 6.4, the WBSC have two classes of membership:

• Affiliated Members, which will be categorised as either Full Members or Provisional Members; and
• Associated Members, officially approved by the WBSC Executive Board.

Affiliated Member

Full Member

As per WBSC Statutes:

6.5.2 - That there exists a National Olympic Committee (NOC) in the country or territory of the Federation, Association or Organisation applying for affiliation.

6.5.4 - When a country or territory wishes to set up its own NOC and requires a minimum National Sports Federations, Associations or Organisations in order to obtain such status, the WBSC may accept from the applicant its request for incorporation into and recognition by the NOC in the process of the NOC’s incorporation and in such case, WBSC may admit it as a Provisional Member. Such provisional acceptance shall remain in force pending the decision of the International Olympic Committee in relation to recognition of the corresponding NOC.

Provisional Member

As per WBSC Statutes:

6.6.2 - The applicant Federation, Association or Organisation does not have an IOC-recognised NOC in its country or territory but is recognised by WBSC to be the only Federation, Association or Organisation authorised to legislate and pass resolutions, motions and provisions in its country or territory, in all baseball/softball competitions organised within its jurisdiction or territory and to set up relations with other Members, in accordance with the WBSC Statutes, Code of the Divisions, By-Laws, Rules and Regulations.

Associated Member

WBSC identifies Associated Members as those who particularly endorse international baseball and softball with their own leagues in partnership with the WBSC. These leagues support baseball and softball to the extent that they are major sports in their respective countries. Please refer to link for the current list of Associated Members.