"World Baseball and Softball Confederation"

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The World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the governing body of baseball and softball. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and the International Softball Federation (ISF). It unites 210 national associations from 145 countries. Headquartered in Lausanne (Switzerland). The President of the WBSC is Riccardo Fraccari (Italy).

History

International Baseball Federation

The first international baseball matches were held at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis (USA), where baseball was introduced as a demonstration sport. In the same capacity he was included in the unofficial program of the Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912. After 24 years of matches between two teams from the United States, baseball was demonstrated in Berlin during the 1936 Olympics. In August 1938, a series of matches between the United Kingdom and the United States took place in several cities of England, which received the status of the first World Cup. The winner was the host team, who won 4 matches out of 5. By the 1950 World Cup, held in the capital of Nicaragua, Managua, the number of participating teams in the world championships has reached 12.

In 1938, the International Baseball Federation was formed, renamed the International Baseball Federation (Federación Internacional de Béisbol Amateur) in 1943.

In 1951, baseball was included in the program of the first Pan American Games.

In 1953, the first continental federation was formed - the European Baseball Confederation, which began holding European championships the following year. In 1954, the Asian Baseball Federation was formed, which held the first championship of its continent in the same year.

In 1956, 1964 and 1968, baseball was included in the Olympics as a demonstration sport.

From 1973 to 1975, the baseball world was divided when some national associations withdrew from FIBA and founded the World Federation of Amateur Baseball (Federación Mundial de Béisbol Amateur). In 1976, the International Baseball Association (AINBA, IBA) was formed, which in 1999 was transformed into the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), which existed in this capacity until the merger in 2013 with the International Softball Federation (ISF) into the World Baseball and Softball Confederation.

The Pan American Baseball Confederation was formed in 1985, the Oceania Baseball Confederation in 1989, and the African Baseball and Softball Association in 1990.

In 1988, baseball was again presented at the Olympic Games as a showpiece, and in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain, for the first time included in the official program of the Olympics. In 1998, the IBAF and the Major Professional League of North America (MLB) reached an agreement on the admission of professional players to the Olympic Games.

Since 2004, the women's baseball world championships have been held.

In 2005, baseball and softball were excluded from the IOC session