The growth of global Baseball/Softball continues to go from strength to strength after another important year of development for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).
WBSC Treasurer Angelo Vicini presented an update on the ongoing Development Strategy to delegates at the WBSC Congress in October in Bangkok, Thailand, highlighting how targeted investment continues to strengthen and expand the key WBSC disciplines of Baseball, Softball, Baseball5 and eSport worldwide. Vicini outlined the allocation of development grants designed to promote long-term growth, sustainability and participation across all levels of the sport.
Funding dedicated to athletes and sport development includes grants for elite athletes, umpires, technical commissioners, scorers and national teams, as well as support for technical training courses for coaches and game officials.
Resources allocated to administration and promotion help National Federations and Continental Associations strengthen governance structures and management capacity. Additional grants support baseball and softball academies and the development of playing facilities.
Promotion funding is also used to provide technical equipment and to support school and community-based projects, helping introduce the sports to new audiences.
Vicini explained that the WBSC Executive Board sets the organisation’s global development strategy, establishes guidelines and determines priorities, while Continental Associations design regional plans and monitor the growth of their affiliated National Federations.
Development Programmes 2025-28
Just ahead of the Congress, the WBSC published its Development Programmes 2025–2028 booklet in English and Spanish. The publication serves as a comprehensive roadmap to support WBSC Members in strengthening baseball/softball foundations and expanding the sport’s reach worldwide. Development Programmes 2025–2028 provides Continental Associations and National Federations with step-by-step guidance on how to leverage the WBSC’s global network, resources and expertise to drive sustainable baseball/softball growth at all levels.
“This new edition of the Development Programmes serves as a guide for our members, athletes and officials who wish to benefit from the ever-growing WBSC network established over the past years,” President Fraccari wrote in his opening message. “It represents both a continuation of our shared vision and a renewed commitment to supporting every corner of the global Baseball/Softball community.”
Highlights – what Members did in 2025
In February, a combined team of SOTO and Kongo Basic School students from the Shai Osudoku District of Ghana’s Greater Accra Region won the inaugural Ghana Koshien Baseball Championship at Labone Senior High School. The team claimed the title with a 12–9 victory in the final.
The Koshien-style tournament featured four teams and was delivered as part of the Japan-Africa Baseball & Softball Foundation (J-ABS) Africa 55 Koshien Project.
Tanzania was the first African country to launch a Koshien-style baseball championship. Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, South Sudan, Benin, Cameroon and Zambia expected to introduce their own competitions in the near future.
The Minotaures, a club based in Martigny in Switzerland’s Canton of Valais, showcased baseball during the Junior Days, an event organised by the Connectivia Foundation. Through a collaboration with the WBSC, the club set up a batting cage and a pitching machine, along with a range of batting stations using nets and tees to allow children to try baseball in a safe and welcoming environment. The Minotaures provided the instructors for the activity.
In February, the Turkish Baseball and Softball Federation organised a four-day softball coaching seminar in Ankara, combining theoretical and practical sessions to support coach development. Held from 1 to 4 February, the clinic awarded national certification to participants. The Level 3 course, led by Argentine coach Guillermo Spotorno, brought together 15 participants.
The Baseball Association of Hong Kong, China (BAHKC) hosted the inaugural Hong Kong International Youth Baseball Classic from 14 to 16 March. The event brought together 13 teams from the Greater Bay Area and Indonesia, providing young players with an international competitive platform.
In late April, former Chinese Taipei ace Chien-Ming Wang visited the National Taiwan Sports University to conduct a clinic with the Palau baseball team. The one-hour-plus session involved a 25-player squad aged between 17 and 33 and offered hands-on guidance in a high-performance training environment.
In May, the Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA) announced a partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for the 2025 Youth Club League (i-League) support project. The initiative aims to expand the youth baseball base, with government backing supporting a more stable and systematic league structure.
Also in May, the Brazilian Baseball and Softball Confederation (CBBS) delivered grassroots clinics in two cities in the São Paulo region to help grow the sport’s popularity. More than 200 children took part, with CBBS coaches and instructors leading on-field activities.
In June, the Taichung City Government unveiled plans for a new domed stadium with a capacity of more than 30,000 seats. Expected to become the largest indoor multi-functional venue in central-southern Taiwan, the Super Dome is projected to begin operations in 2030.
In September, Baseball Canada announced the launch of The Road to Okotoks, a premier U-19 Baseball National Championship culminating in the crowning of a champion from July 14–19, 2026, in Okotoks, Alberta.
The new competition will feature 16 elite teams from across the country, all vying for the prestigious Morneau Cup, named in honour of Justin Morneau, the former American League MVP, Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer, and Minnesota Twins legend in Major League Baseball (MLB).
Highlights – what the WBSC did in 2025
In March, WBSC Academy released the second edition of the Baseball Technical Commissioner Continuing Development Course. It consists of three lessons and is mandatory for maintaining the WBSC Baseball Technical Commissioner (TC) License for TCs who did not receive an assignment to a WBSC event in 2023.
Lesson One identifies how the WBSC Official Rules of Baseball differ from MLB’s Official Baseball Rules that were used in the past.
Lesson Two identifies key changes in the rules and regulations packages that are critical for WBSC Technical Commissioners’ work at events.
The third and final lesson covers best practices for managing scenarios that occur at WBSC events.
In April, the WBSC joined the Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport (GO), reinforcing its commitment to advancing equality both on and off the field of play.
“With the GO, we share the mission of tackling inequalities encountered by women and girls in both sport and society,” commented WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari.
The WBSC was one of the International Federations invited by President Filomena Fortes at the fourth Congress of the Association of Portuguese-Speaking Olympic Committees (ACOLOP, Associação dos Comités Olímpicos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa) on April 24-25 in Santiago Island, Cape Verde. Baseball5 could be part of the revitalised Lusophony Games.
Former international catcher Luis Camargo led the WBSC coaching staff at the XXXI World Children’s Baseball Fair from July 30 to August 6. His staff included Daishin Nakamura (Japan), Robin Wallace (USA), Marc Carrillo (Spain), Hitoshi Hasegawa (Japan) and Ayako Rokkaku (Japan). The Akita Prefecture in the Honshu Region of Japan hosted the event.
The WBSC opened a busy October by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the International School Sport Federation (ISF). President Željko Tanasković, Executive Director Hasnae El Ayoubi, and Sport Director Marko Petrič represented the ISF at the signing ceremony in Lausanne. President Fraccari led the WBSC delegation, joined by Chief Operating Officer Marco Ienna and Executive Assistant to the President Victor Isola.
The WBSC took part in the Olympic Week, held at the Olympic Museum and its surroundings in the Olympic capital, Lausanne, Switzerland, from October 12 to 16. The Lausanne Indians baseball club supported the WBSC during the Baseball, Softball and Baseball5 showcase.
The city of Toulouse, France, hosted a joint WBSC-WBSC Europe Baseball Umpire Clinic from November 27 to 30, offering the 30 participants the opportunity to earn a dual certification: WBSC Basic Umpire and WBSC Europe Umpire. The contents of the clinic will serve as the core of the Level 1 Baseball Umpire Licensing Programme course, which will also be available on the WBSC Academy Platform in the near future.