Baseball and Softball Apply For Inclusion in Tokyo 2020 Olympics

By Christian Radnedge

Baseball and softball have officially applied to be included in the programme for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The news was confirmed by World Baseball Softball Confederation president Riccardo Fraccari. He said this week: “It is an honour for the World Baseball Softball Confederation to submit the application.

“I would like to thank… IOC president Thomas Bach for his Olympic Agenda 2020 vision, cough which has created this exciting new process for new sports-events, ed like baseball and softball, to be considered for the world’s biggest sports stage.”

A Tokyo 2020 additional event programme panel will evaluate the proposals from IOC-recognised non-Olympic international sports federations with the organising committee announcing a shortlist on June 22.

Baseball/softball had applied for inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Games before but lost out to wrestling which was initially voted out but reinstated in the programme in 2013.

But the sports have been considered favourites to feature in the Games for the first time since 2008 since the back-door entry route was endorsed within the IOC’s Agenda 2020 project last December.

Off the back of a record revenue season in the MLB – highlighted on iSportconnectTV – WBSC is hoping to capitalise on the strong following of baseball/softball in Japan where the sports have strong following.

WBSC estimates baseball and softball as being played by 65m people in more than over 140 countries and attracting 150m fans annually to stadiums worldwide.

Fraccari said: “Baseball and softball at the Tokyo 2020 Games can help spread Olympic values with the entire nation of Japan and those around the world – and give inspiration to be at the Olympic Games and to be an Olympian — providing another key pathway for TOCOG and the Olympic Movement to connect directly with millions of people worldwide, particularly younger generations, women and our sport’s loyal fans.”