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LAUSANNE,
Switzerland -- The world governing body for baseball and softball, the World
Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), has announced today that the
hosting rights of the three Baseball World Cups (U-15, U-21 and Women's) to
be staged in 2016 have been awarded and will go to Japan, Mexico and South
Korea.
The III U-15 Baseball World Cup will
be celebrated in Japan, where twelve countries will unite for the youth
international baseball showpiece.
With
the acquisition of the rights to host the U-15 Baseball World Cup in 2016,
Japan is set to host baseball world championships in three successive
years, following the ENEOS Presents VI Women's Baseball World Cup this September in Miyazaki and the
2015 U-18 Baseball World Cup, which will take place at historic Koshien
Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo.
The II U-21 Baseball World Cup will
be celebrated in Sinaloa, Mexico -- where the highly-attended II U-15 Baseball World Cup just
recently concluded, with world No. 3 Cuba crowned U-15 world champions by
defeating top-ranked USA in the gold medal finale in Mazatlán. The
first-ever U-21 Baseball World Cup is being held in Taichung, Taiwan this
year from 7-16 November.
The
2016 Women's Baseball World Cup will head to South Korea, where the women's
competition will be boosted from eight participating countries this year in
Miyazaki to twelve in 2016. The expansion of the women's baseball platform
aligns with the objectives of WBSC's leadership to promote gender-equality
and to provide more opportunities for girls and women to be empowered
through sports that women like to play, like baseball-softball.
Commenting
on the naming of the three hosts of the baseball world championships in
2016, the WBSC President, Riccardo Fraccari, said:
"We
are extremely delighted with these excellent bids that derive from key
markets. Continuing to attract high-quality hosts to successfully
deliver and showcase our events is a key indicator of baseball and
softball's global appeal and popularity, and of the lasting legacy and
value returned to the hosts."
Since 2009, the baseball and
softball world championships, or stages thereof, have been held in 20
countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and North-, South- and
Central America, and include Argentina, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Croatia,
Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Panama, Puerto Rico, San Marino, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden,
United States and Venezuela.
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