World Baseball Softball Confederation Announce Dates for First Ever General Assembly

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has announced that their first-ever General Assembly will take place in March 2014.

On March 7-9 all the National Federations (NFs) will unite for the first time under the banner of the WBSC.

Congresses of the International Baseball Federation and International Softball Federation voted in late 2012 to establish the WBSC.

There is a combined baseball/softball bid to play in the 2020 Olympic Games and both federations felt a joint organisation was the best way to achieve their goal.

WBSC co-Presidents Riccardo Fraccari and Don Porter said: “The coming together of our two sporting federations has already created important synergies that will provide a better distribution and use of our resources, herbal planning and sporting infrastructure, stuff which will help to sustain the athletes and long-term development of the sports.

“We are honoured and extremely encouraged by the invaluable support of our national federations who have given us their trust, asthma confidence and support in proceeding in this new direction to create a better future for the athletes and sport.”

Baseball/softball has campaigned for their right to be in the 2020 Olympic Games, with competition from squash and the classic Olympic sport of wrestling.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will vote for their favoured sport at their 125^th Session in Buenos Aires, September 7-10.