31-619: The World Baseball Softball Confederation ( WBSC ) is the world governing body for the sports of baseball , softball , and Baseball5 . It was established in 2013 by the merger of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and International Softball Federation (ISF). Under the WBSC's organizational structure, the IBAF and ISF serve as the confederation's baseball and softball divisions, respectively. Each division
62-571: A certain group, such as the Catholic or Jewish sports groups. General sports organizations and multi-sport events also exist for other groups such as the Invictus Games for military veterans. Professional sports leagues are usually the highest level of play in sport, specifically if they consist of the best players around the world in a certain sport. Because of this, they usually work with national or international federations, but there
93-499: A congress or general assembly of the international federation and is responsible for defining its sports policies. It consists of all of the national federations, each of which receives one vote. On the other hand, the executive branch, which is often referred to as the council or executive committee, consists of elected members by the legislative branch and is responsible for directing, managing, and representing their federation. Trusts are organizations or groups that have control over
124-558: A given sport (or a group of similar sport disciplines, such as aquatics or skiing ) and administers its sport at the highest level. These federations work to create a common set of rules, promote their sport, and organize international competitions. International sports federations represent their sport at the Olympic level where applicable. About 30 international sport federations are located in Switzerland , with about 20 or so in
155-584: A particular sport, as evident in the example of the Northern Ireland Federation of Sub-Aqua Clubs . Multi-sport event organizers are responsible for the organization of an event that includes more than one sport. The best-known example is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the organizer of the modern Olympic Games . General sports organizations are responsible for sports-related topics, usually for
186-506: A single federation allowed for the permanent alignment, merger and management of baseball and softball at the world level. The merger resulted in an immediate boost to the governance, universality and gender equality of baseball and softball, criteria for an Olympic sport that are heavily valued by the IOC. At the first-ever World Baseball Softball Congress—in Hammamet, Tunisia —Italy's Fraccari
217-643: A team in the minor leagues . This enables them to shuffle players who are not doing well to the minor leagues, which will inspire them to contribute more to the team by playing better. A 2014 study by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) criticized major international sports governing bodies including the International Olympic Committee and FIFA for not having sufficient provisions for human and labor rights. 2026 Youth Olympic Games The 2026 Summer Youth Olympics ( French : Jeux Olympiques de la jeunesse d'été de 2026 ), officially known as
248-531: A type of national federation, as they are responsible for a country's participation in the Olympic Games and in the Paralympic Games respectively. However, a national governing body (NGB) can be different from a national federation due to government recognition requirements. Also, national governing bodies can be a supraorganization representing a range of unrelated organizations operating in
279-984: A video game version of Baseball5 in the near future. The first official WBSC Coed Slow Pitch World Cup was greenlit on 9 June 2022, during a meeting by the WBSC Executive Board in Pully, Switzerland. It was to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico in December 2023, but it was cancelled in October 2023 due to logistical challenges. The WBSC is governed by the executive board, which consists of fourteen members: president, secretary general, two vice presidents, baseball executive vice president, softball executive vice president, treasurer, four members at large, athlete representative for baseball, athlete representative for softball, and global ambassador. The Baseball Division
310-965: Is governed by an executive committee, which has thirteen members: president, secretary general, 2nd vice president, 3rd vice president, treasurer, three members at large, four continental vice presidents (one each for Africa, Americas, Europe, and Oceania), and executive director. The Softball Division is governed by an executive committee that has twenty-three members: president, secretary general, 1st vice president, 2nd vice president, treasurer, twelve vice presidents (two each for Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Oceania, and one each for North America and English-speaking Caribbean), two at-large members, two athlete representatives, immediate past president, and executive director. The WBSC has four departments: media, finance, tournaments, and marketing. It also has several commissions. Besides its worldwide institutions, there are five regional governing bodies that oversee
341-507: Is governed by an executive committee, while the WBSC is governed by an executive board. The WBSC has 208 National Federation members in 141 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. Professional baseball organizations as well as youth organizations are also included and form an arm of the WBSC as associate members. Headquartered in Pully, Switzerland ,
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#1732769270482372-619: Is now scheduled to be held there for 13 days—from 31 October to 13 November 2026, becoming the first IOC event to be held in Africa . On 9 December 2014 at the 127th IOC Session it was decided to move the organisation of the YOG to a non-Olympic year, starting with the fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games, to be postponed from 2022 to 2023. Subsequently, the IOC reverted to a 2022 date, and announced in February 2018 that they would be recommending that
403-494: Is usually a separation between the different federations. Most North American professional leagues usually do not have amateur divisions, as the amateur divisions are mostly run in separate leagues. Also, most professional leagues are related to other leagues, as players usually attempt to play in the league with the highest level of play. Because of this, promotion and relegation can occur; or, in league systems without promotion and relegation, clubs in professional leagues can have
434-632: The COVID-19 pandemic . The IOC voted to select the host city of the 2022 Summer Youth Olympics on 8 October 2018 at the 133rd IOC Session in Buenos Aires , Argentina. Senegal proposes to organize the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics in three distinct areas, Dakar , Diamniadio and Saly . The city of Saly will host water sports, beach sports and golf . The 2026 Summer Youth Olympics will feature 247 events in 36 sports. Breaking , skateboarding , sport climbing , surfing and karate will join
465-612: The IV Summer Youth Olympic Games and commonly known as Dakar 2026 ( Wolof : Ndakaaru 2026 ), will be the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympics , an international sports , education and cultural festival for teenagers, in a city designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Originally scheduled to be held for 18 days in Dakar , Senegal, from 22 October to 9 November 2022, it
496-622: The Lausanne area, where the International Olympic Committee is located. International federations for sports that do not participate in the Olympic Games are managed by equivalent organizations to the International Olympic Committee , such as the SportAccord . International federations are typically organized with legislative and executive branches at the top. The legislative body is usually referred to as
527-413: The Olympic Games , and WBSC-associated federations hold the right to organize and select national teams Discussions to merge the two separate world governing bodies for the sports of baseball and softball were sparked by a Memorandum of Understanding that saw baseball and softball leaders agree to form a joint bid to be added to the 2020 Olympic Games sports program. Baseball and softball were dropped from
558-564: The Summer Olympics in 2005, the IOC reclassified baseball and softball as two disciplines of the same sport. As the IOC's guidance indicated the necessity for baseball and softball to be jointly considered for reinstatement in the Olympic programme, the two independent International Federations set out on a path toward a full and complete merger. In 2012, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and
589-624: The sport that they govern. Governing bodies have different scopes. They may cover a range of sport at an internationally acceptable level, such as the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee , or only a single sport at a national level, such as the Rugby Football League . National bodies will largely have to be affiliated with international bodies for the same sport. The first international federations were formed at
620-432: The 2012 Summer Olympic program and were scheduled to be reinstated for the 2020 Olympics, but the 2020 Olympics were delayed due to the COVID-19 international pandemic. In August 2021, the International Olympic Committee announced that baseball and softball would not be part of the 2024 Paris Olympics . Baseball5 is still set to feature in the 2026 Youth Olympics . Following its exclusion of baseball and softball from
651-548: The 28 core sports. There will be no mixed team events (NOCs) for the first time, 1 open event (Equestrian), 115 men's events, and 115 women's events. Baseball5 and wushu were subsequently added as optional sports. In June 2024, the IOC Executive Board approved a new sports program proposed by the IOC’s Olympic Programme Commission to better fit it into the local context. An amendment to
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#1732769270482682-411: The Americas and Europe, as well as having been implemented in some schools in various countries. It is due to feature in the 2026 Youth Olympic Games , and has two World Cups for youth and senior players alternating each year starting in 2022, with both of these international events being played in a mixed-gender format. The WBSC is also planning to, as part of its general push into E-Sports , introduce
713-709: The International Softball Federation (ISF) laid out the essential ground rules for partnership and began working on a constitution that would guide the merger and provide a framework for governance, ethics and operations. At a historic IBAF Congress in Tokyo in April 2013, the Constitution was ratified and since it had already been approved by an ISF working group empowered to do so, the WBSC was officially formalized and empowered. The creation of
744-432: The WBSC was granted recognition as the sole competent global authority for both the sports of baseball and softball by the International Olympic Committee in 2013 . As the recognised governing body of baseball, softball, and Baseball5, the WBSC is charged with overseeing all international competitions. It holds the exclusive rights of all competitions, tournaments and world championships featuring national teams, including
775-471: The end of the 19th century. Every sport has a different governing body that can define the way that the sport operates through its affiliated clubs and societies. This is because sports have different levels of difficulty and skill, so they can try to organize the people playing their sport by ability and by age. The different types of sport governing bodies are all shown below: International sports federations are non-governmental non-profit organizations for
806-494: The event be held in Africa. The 132nd IOC Session confirmed the change of date back to 2022 on 7 February 2018. The host was announced at the 133rd IOC Session in Buenos Aires , Argentina during the 2018 edition . However, on 15 July 2020, the IOC and Senegalese government agreed to postpone the games to 2026 due to the operational and economical consequences of the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics to July 2021 due to
837-470: The extent that they are major sports in their respective countries. The table to the right has all leagues along with the country hosted: Sports governing body A sports governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sports governing bodies come in various forms and have a variety of regulatory functions, including disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in
868-465: The game in the different continents and regions of the world. In total, WBSC recognizes 198 national associations, with 132 national baseball teams as well as 122 women's national teams. Unlike the ICC , the WBSC identifies associate members as those who particularly endorse international baseball and softball with their own leagues in partnership with the WBSC. These leagues support baseball and softball to
899-477: The money that will be used to help someone else, such as the Youth Sport Trust . National governing bodies have the same objectives as those of an international federation, but within the scope of one country, or even part of a country, as the name implies. They support local clubs and are often responsible for national teams . National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees are both
930-546: The world. The WBSC introduced it to aid its ultimate goal of having a billion-strong baseball-softball community by 2030. A major difference between B5 and baseball/softball is that the game is played without a pitcher , with the batter starting each play with the ball. It was inspired by various Latin American street games, such as "cuatro esquinas" ( four corners ) in Cuba, and has been played in some international tournaments in
961-471: Was elected to a seven-year term as the first president of WBSC, along with a fully elected Executive Board. In 2017, the WBSC introduced a third discipline to be played at an international level, Baseball5 (B5), which is a five-on-five, five- inning game designed to be played with only a rubber ball on a small field. It is targeted at underserved communities, as well as offering a low-cost and fast-paced entry point to baseball and softball in new places around