The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and the International World Games Association (IWGA) have announced that women’s fastpitch softball will be one of 30 sports on the official programme of the World Games 2021 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
Staged every four years and endorsed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Games is a multi-sport showcase of non-Olympic and potential future Olympic sports. Softball was part of the inaugural World Games in 1981 in Santa Clara, California, and last featured at the 2013 World Games in Cali, Colombia.
Women’s fastpitch softball also featured at the 1985 World Games, held in London, where a tournament featuring the USA, Japan, Chinese Taipei, the Netherlands and Belgium was run in cooperation with the British Softball Federation.
A newly-formed Great Britain Women’s Fastpitch Team was not given a place in the competition after trials against Dutch teams in the Netherlands, but did play an exhibition game against Belgium before the tournament began at Royal Holloway College in Egham, Surrey.
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WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari said: "The WBSC is honoured by the IWGA's decision. Inclusion in multi-sport platforms like the World Games and the Olympic Games -- sport's biggest stage -- is key to WBSC's strategic plan to showcase and grow baseball/softball globally.
"Building upon softball's Olympic return at the Tokyo 2020 Games, the World Games 2021 in Birmingham will be another important international platform for softball athletes to shine on.
"And with our sport's popularity and fan bases in the host nation and worldwide,” Fraccari added, “we will do everything we can to help further grow the World Games brand."
The WBSC will shortly review and then announce the qualification system for the 2021 World Games in Alabama.