2024 in Review: Baseball5 World Cup "an amazing and memorable moment"

19.12.2024 13:36

The second edition of the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup, hosted by Hong Kong, China in the spectacular Central Harbourfront Event Space in October highlighted another successful year of growth and progress for the five-on-five version of Baseball/Softball.

An Amazing and Memorable Moment

On behalf of the international Baseball/Softball community, World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) President Riccardo Fraccari praised the tournament as "an amazing and memorable event."

“It has been a true pleasure for the WBSC to have the 2024 edition of the Baseball5 World Cup in the iconic Central Harbourfront Event Space,” he added. “I'm sure this tournament will remain in our memories forever. Thank you athletes for the great performances and to the LOC for providing the perfect, inspirational stage for our best athletes to perform to their best."

The II Baseball5 World Cup, which included a new set of rules aimed at enhancing Baseball5 safety and game flow, saw Cuba defeat Japan in the final to successfully defend their World Champions Title earned in the inaugural edition in Mexico two years ago. France claimed the bronze medal.

Cuba's National Sports Institute (Instituto Nacional de Deportes, Educacion Fisica y Recreacion - INDER) named the Baseball5 National Team the Best Team of the Year in Cuba. It was the first time the award went to a Baseball5 team. In addition, the Cuban National Baseball5 Team was named the Most Outstanding Team of the Year after remaining undefeated on their way to claiming the Americas Qualifier and the World Cup titles. Haila Gonzalez, MVP and winner of the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024 was named the best female athlete in team sports. The two-time World Cup MVP and champion Briandy Molina has been included among the Most Outstanding Athletes of the Year.

Baseball5 continues to be one of sport’s most inclusive disciplines. One of the official hashtags for the WBSC’s exciting urban sport is #PlayEverywhere because of its capacity to be able to be played in any location - street, field or sports hall - or on any surface - grass, hardcourt, concrete. It is also a sport played by everyone - from primary school students to older generations.

The WBSC Baseball5 World Cup Hong Kong 2024 was a perfect example. With the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup age criteria being 15 and older (by year of birth), the WBSC caught up with the youngest competitor in Hong Kong - Kira Baitiul from Lithuania, who turns 15 on 30 December - and the oldest in Australia's Jose Rodriguez, who turned 46 on 12 December.

More Teams in Baseball5 World Cups

Ahead of this year’s Baseball5 World Cup, the WBSC Executive Board announced the expansion of the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup and the WBSC Youth Baseball World Cup following the extensive growth of the sport globally and the outstanding success of the inaugural tournaments. Future editions of both tournaments will increase from 12 to 16 teams, offering more opportunities to athletes globally to participate in the WBSC's premier Baseball5 tournaments with a projected minimal cost increase for organisers with the overall number of competition days reducing from six to five or four days. In addition to an increase in the number of players from 96 to 128, competing teams will play 56 games instead of 50 from the 12-team format.

Happy Second Anniversary

Head coach Amjad Alatoom will celebrate the second anniversary of the Baseball5 project in January 2025 at the Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan. The Azraq Refugee Camp is home to over 39,000 people, 60% of whom are children, who were forcibly displaced from their homes by the war in neighbouring Syria. One of the WBSC’s nine Strategic Goals is "Grow our Sport and Make it Relevant in People's Lives and Communities." Baseball5 provides refugees with access to sport, regardless of their background.

The WBSC is hoping to see the Baseball5 Azraq Refugee Team participate in the 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

In April 2024, the Baseball5 Azraq Refugee Team organized the second edition of the Ramadan Open Sports Day inside the Azraq Refugee Camp. Three Baseball5 tournaments involved 90 girls and boys of three age brackets. Three teams participated in the U-12 category, eight in the U-14 age brackets, and three competed at the U-16 level.

The Baseball5 Azraq Refugee Team also took part in exhibition matches with the France national team at Club France in La Vilette on 10 and 11 August during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 while Baseball5 was also part of the second edition of the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) Hope and Dreams Sports Festival in early May.

In a further showcase of Baseball5’s power to encourage participation in sport, the WBSC introduced the sport in the Kakuma Refugee Camp, located in north-western Kenya, which currently hosts nearly 290,000 refugees. A Baseball5 public viewing event took place at Kakuma 1 within the camp on Saturday, 13 July, gathering 53 children from Sudanese, Congolese, Ethiopian and Somali communities, along with five volunteer facilitators. Further events were held in December.

Baseball5 continues having an impact around the world

Baseball5 development events happened in four continents through 2024.

In February, the five-on-five version of Baseball/Softball highlighted World Environmental Education Day in Santiago, Chile where four teams of migrant boys and girls competed in a Baseball5 tournament.
The Puerto Rican Baseball Federation certified 867 teachers to run Baseball5 Development programmes in schools.
Germany organized their first National Baseball5 Championship.
USA Baseball announced in March the launch of exclusive Baseball5 balls and game kits for the US region in partnership with GameMaster Athletic.
Puerto Rico launched the first Baseball5 National Championship in May.
Mexico organized the Baseball5 School National Championship in July. It proved a success, involving 45 teams and 400 students.
Saudi Arabia made their international debut at the Baseball5 French International in Toulouse.
Cambodia launched a 12-team league in August.
Thailand organized coaching seminars in Suphan Buri and Chon Buri.
The Argentina Softball Confederation and the Buenos Aires Province Sports Ministry partnered to include Baseball5 in the Buenos Aires School Games, involving over 300 kids.
The Austrian Baseball and Softball Federation (ABF) held a Baseball5 promotional event in Vienna in September.
A WBSC course in Somone, Senegal, held by Chedli Mokrani and Sofien Riahi in October, involved 26 coaches and 20 players.

Anticipating the Youth Olympics

In 2025, Mexico will host the second edition of the WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup with the International Olympic Committee having confirmed in December, Baseball5 as one of the 25 sports on the Youth Olympics Dakar 2026 programme.

Italy was also announced as the host of the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2026.