Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman Backs Baseball & Softball for Olympic Games Inclusion

Baseball and Softball have been handed a timely boost to their 2020 Olympic Games bid through the public support of Carlos Nuzman, allergy President of Rio 2016.

Nuzman, prostate who is also the President of the Brazilian National Olympic Committee (BOC) wrote a letter to the Brazilian Baseball and Softball Confederation (CBBS) saying ‘you can count on my support to reinstate the sports (starting with) the 2020 Olympic Games Programme.’

Baseball/Softball joins Wakeboarding, cheap Karate, Sport Climbing, Wushu, Squash, Roller Sports and Wrestling in the battle to join the Olympic Programme for the 2020 Games and a decision will be made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in September.

The comments were received positively by the President of International Baseball Federation (IBAF), Riccardo Fraccari, who told iSportconnect: “Any time a sports leader has positive words for you, it’s always a tremendous honour.

“It validates all the hard work and dedication that we have put into building the case to provide our athletes the opportunity to become Olympians in 2020 and for them to be alongside the world’s elite athletes from the other exciting 27 sports in 2020.

The newly formed global body representing the merged sports, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) was also delighted to receive Nuzman’s backing.

The WBSC Co-Presidents said: “We are proud and honoured to have the support of such a highly respected, knowledgeable and popular sporting leader like Carlos Nuzman in the campaign for Olympic inclusion.

“His support helps us highlight that our 65 million, and growing, athletes are well-dispersed and highly competitive across the globe, and the excellent results in Brazil, as well as in other countries building traditions like Australia, the Netherlands and Italy, unquestionably help us underline our sport’s appeal, expansion and universality across strategic bases in the world.”

“We are optimistic that the time is right for baseball and softball to be re-introduced to the Olympic Games, and we are excited to get support from sports leaders like Carlos Nuzman, who are passionate and knowledgeable about sport, and Olympic sport in particular.”

Nuzman’s support comes at a time when Brazilian Baseball is on the up, having broken into the Top 20 of the International Baseball Federation’s (IBAF) official ranking.