Groups announced for WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has unveiled the groups for the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024, scheduled to take place at the Central Harbourfront Event Space in Hong Kong, China, from 7 to 12 October 2024.
The Central Harbourfront Event Space, spanning 36,000 square metres of open-air space, is an inspirational location for the 12-team competition. After the inaugural edition of the WBSC Baseball World Cup took place in El Zocalo, Mexico in 2022, the venue provides another iconic location, as it is set against the stunning backdrop of Hong Kong’s skyline.
The tournament will see 12 teams divided into two groups of six as per the criteria below to ensure a well-balanced and competitive tournament.
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In Group A, world No. 1 Chinese Taipei, who finished third in 2022, will face defending champions and world No. 2 Cuba, No. 6 South Africa, No. 10 Lithuania, No. 13 Venezuela, and hosts, No. 17 Hong Kong, China.
Group B promises to be equally exciting with world No. 3 Tunisia, No. 4 France, No. 5 and 2022 silver medallists Japan, No. 7 Mexico, No. 9 China, and No. 39 Australia included.
The tournament features teams from five continents. America and Asia each have three slots, Africa and Europe have two slots each, and Oceania has one slot, along with a host/wild card slot.
The WBSC’s grouping criteria focuses on three main factors - continental balance, continental tier based on WBSC/KONAMI Baseball5 World Ranking as at December 31, 2023 and results from qualifying events.
Initially, the groups were set with America 1, Asia 2, and America 3 in Group A, while Group B included Asia 1, America 2, and Asia 3. To maintain continental balance, the host team from Asia was placed in Group A, and Oceania was placed in Group B. This adjustment resulted in Group A comprising America 1, Asia 2, America 3, and the host team, while Group B included Asia 1, America 2, Asia 3, and Oceania.
Next, the top-ranked teams from Europe and Africa, based on the WBSC/KONAMI Baseball5 World Ranking were added. Europe 1 (France) and Africa 1 (Tunisia) were placed in different groups to maintain balance. This led to Group A featuring America 1, Asia 2, America 3, the host team, Europe 1, and Africa 2, and Group B consisting of Asia 1, America 2, Asia 3, Oceania, Africa 1, and Europe 2.
Finally, applying the criteria for assigning teams based on their rankings and results, the final groups are set. Group A includes Cuba (America 1), Chinese Taipei (Asia 2), Venezuela (America 3), Hong Kong (host), Lithuania (Europe 1), and South Africa (Africa 2). Group B features Japan (Asia 1), Mexico (America 2), China (Asia 3), Australia (Oceania), Tunisia (Africa 1), and France (Europe 2).
The announcement of the schedule for the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024 will be made in the coming weeks.
The inaugural edition of the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup in Mexico in 2022 saw Cuba, Japan, and Chinese Taipei finish on the podium while hosts Hong Kong, China finished 12th.
