Zambia taking steps to introduce Baseball5 across nation's schools
Baseball5 is quickly catching on in Zambia and has the potential to help baseball and softball grow into one of the world's major global sports.
Baseball and softball leaders have always wanted to spread the game across Africa, but past initiatives have tended to be faced with challenges, such as a lack of equipment and fields-of-play. Enter Baseball5, the five-on-five game that only needs a ball and can be played on all terrains.
WBSC introduced Baseball5 in Zambia, a southern African nation of approximately 17 million, in February 2019. A few months later in September, the Zambia Baseball and Softball Association (ZABSA) commemorated the Universities Sports Day organizing the first Baseball5 University tournament.
This past March, ZABSA organized the first-ever Youth Baseball5 Tournament. A total of seven clubs and over 100 players participated in the event.
Ken Matishi, a member at large of the ZABSA Board, is working on a project to develop Baseball5 nationwide, on behalf of ZABSA and its President Chabi Chondoka.
American national Craig Adkins, who resides in Zambia, produced an instructional video (included above) to introduce Baseball5 into the curriculum of the Zambian physical education programmes as the sport, which one can #playeverywhere, takes hold in Zambia.
