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WBSC
Special Report - Highlights from Inaugural WBSC Congress in Tunisia
Riccardo Fraccari
elected first-ever president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation
in 'New Era' for Baseball Softball
- The new WBSC President shares his vision and reaction
following the historic first World Baseball Softball Congress in Africa.
HAMMAMET, Tunisia -- On a
continent where no baseball or softball world congress had gone before, the
inaugural congress of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC)
elected Italy's Riccardo Fraccari to lead the world governing body as its
first-ever sole president. (See full composition of WBSC
Executive Board.)
Dating
back to 2012, the 64 year-old Fraccari helped guide and deliver the birth
of the WBSC as an interim co-president, alongside softball partner Don
Porter. Now, Fraccari will serve as the lone WBSC president for an initial
seven-year term that extends to 2021.
The
WBSC Congress, which took place over the weekend in the North African city
of Hammamet, also elected its first-ever executive board, formalizing a
complex merger of baseball's and softball's two independent international
sport federations -- a process that took nearly four-years of talks, legal
consultations and planning to arrive at the day where only one official
would lead as president.
The
initial election term, which applies to the entire WBSC Executive Board,
was extended beyond 2020 by the Congress in Hammamet ahead of the
elections, in order to better guarantee the new president and board a
sufficient time frame with which to formulate/implement a mid- and
long-term growth plan for the young international federation that is now
challenged with overseeing a truly global and fortified baseball-softball
movement that possesses an estimated sixty million athletes and hundreds of
millions of fans.
Following
the next round of elections in 2021, voting will take place every four
years, and always in the year following the summer Olympic Games.
The
WBSC Congress also paid tribute to longtime softball leader, Don Porter,
who steps down after over forty years of service to softball; during which
time, he helped construct greater pathways for women to be better
represented in sport and helped softball become an Olympic sport
(1996-2008). The former softball leader leaves behind a forceful softball
movement that is played in over 140 countries and is enjoyed by millions of
athletes and fans.
-- Statements from new
World Baseball Softball President Riccardo Fraccari --
On:
1. BEING
ELECTED
- "I
am tremendously honoured to be entrusted by my peers to lead the WBSC.
This role comes with an unprecedented level of responsibility and
commitment -- it's an exciting and historic time, a 'new era', for
baseball and softball."
- "I
can already feel the weight of my shoulders."
2. INHERITING
LEGACY
- "This
union does not erase our past, but rather, it unites baseball's and
softball's legacies."
- "President
Porter's historic contributions leave an invaluable legacy that will
forever be a part of softball and both the birth and growth of the
WBSC."
- "I
admire President Porter, and I plan to honour and help expand upon
what he has built -- and all of us will continue to count on him to
share his advice and knowledge."
3. FINALISING THE
MERGER
- "While
I am particularly proud of what we have accomplished to arrive to this
historic day here in Africa, the vision and unity -- and opportunities
-- that baseball and softball now share would not be possible without
the guidance and support we received from the International Olympic
Committee(IOC)and leaders like President Bach."
- "The
IOC has been an invaluable resource throughout this entire
process."
4. OLYMPIC GAMES
RETURN
- "The
WBSC will be at the full service of the IOC and Olympic Movement, and
the WBSC will offer its total cooperation and partnership to the
Olympic Family members to grow the Olympic Movement and the WBSC will
be fully prepared for potential opportunities for baseball and
softball to once again join the Olympic Family in the greatest and
most important sports event in the world, the Olympic Games."
- "The
WBSC will absolutely press forward to further globalize, commercialize
and protect our exclusive properties, the national team event
platforms -- which I anticipate will continue their increase in terms
of market value and global reach -- in order to show what can be
delivered to the Olympic Games, especially during this critical 'Olympic
Agenda 2020' review. The WBSC will put its full trust and confidence
in the IOC, and I hope -- and we are working very hard -- so that one
day our athletes and our sport can be part of the Olympic Games."
- "As
baseball and softball's global footprint deepens, I want to put the
growth of our sport under the Olympic umbrella to help further enhance
and sustain the uniqueness, year-round message, visibility and
economic positioning of the Olympic Games for the collective benefit
of the Olympic Family and its partners -- to help grow world sport
together."
5. WBSC SPORT
PLATFORMS AS ATTRACTIVE AND VIABLE PATHWAYS FOR WOMEN
- "My
vision is for the WBSC to work with the IOC members, and with all the
Olympic sports federations, to help empower young girls and women and
provide them with equal opportunities to be included in and benefit
from sport and in the Olympic Games -- and to help accelerate the
'modernization' of women's roles in sport and society."
- "I
feel WBSC's sport platforms can significantly contribute to this
important cause to tear down social barriers and challenge stereotypes
of gender inequality."
- "Softball
is increasingly popular as a non-contact team sport in Muslim and
other cultures where dress codes and rules can be easily adapted for
girls and young women from all backgrounds and faiths."
- "Certainly
adding a sport to the Olympic programme that women across the world
enjoy to play, like softball, will give women more opportunities to be
empowered through sport, and will help to build the Olympic Games that
are more relevant to young girls and women -- and will increase
exposure of women sport heroes and icons across the world, inspiring
and connecting with future generations of girls and leaders."
6.
WBSC SPORT PLATFORMS AS ATTRACTIVE AND VIABLE PATHWAYS FOR YOUTH
- "Some
of my first orders of business will be to ensure that the WBSC is at
the forefront of youth sport by supporting the development of
marketable youth engagement baseball and softball platforms like the
already successfully established U-12 (11-12 y/o), U-15 (13-15 y/o)
and U-18 (16-18 y/o) Baseball World Cups and the U-16 Softball World
Cup, particularly as the Olympic Games shifts to a more youth-centered
demographic."
- "The
WBSC will also look into developing 'urban' and 'indoor' platforms to
further baseball and softball's leading position in the youth sports
market and increase our relevance to large populations in city areas
where it would be extremely challenging to find open green areas where
our traditional disciplines are typically enjoyed and practiced -- our
friends in other international sports federations already have such
platforms in place and are enjoying great success with adopting their
sports to new environments."
7.
GOOD GOVERNANCE
- "With
the merger finalised and the executive board elected, we are more
prepared than ever and we have solidified a foundation from which to
provide the best opportunities and the best future for our athletes
and sport disciplines."
- "The
National Federations have sent a strong signal of unity in Tunisia,
and I will do everything I can to keep their confidence and take this
organization in a direction where it is to their benefit."
- "I have
great confidence and trust in my fellow executive board members who
were also elected in Hammamet -- they have a deep understanding of
sport and have the best interests of our athletes and sports in mind
-- there have been sacrifices made to get to this point."
- "This
historic moment is a significant breakthrough for the governance,
sustained growth and partnership of baseball and softball."
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