WBSC announces plans for Olympic baseball qualifiers

March 16, 2021

By Adam Morissette

Baseball Canada

OTTAWA – The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) announced on Tuesday that the WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier is expected to be held in early June in Florida with WBSC Final Qualifier to follow in Taichung, Taiwan from June 16-20.

Official dates and venues for the Americas Qualifier are to be confirmed.

The events will determine the final two spots (one from the Americas Qualifier and one from the Final Qualifier) for the six-team Tokyo 2020 Olympic baseball competition that begins on July 28, 2021.

“Today’s confirmation regarding these qualifiers should cause great anticipation and excitement amongst both the Olympic and baseball worlds,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari in a statement. “I would like to express the WBSC’s deepest gratitude to our hosts in Florida and Taichung, who will be providing us with the necessary settings in which to stage these important international competitions in a safe and successful manner. Good luck to all the teams and athletes on the Road to the Tokyo Olympics. It’s time to play ball.”

Canada’s Men’s National Team is scheduled to compete in the eight-team Americas Qualifier where they will be placed in Group B along with Colombia, Cuba and Venezuela. Group A will feature host USA along with Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico.

Following round robin group play, the top two countries in each group will qualify for the Super Round and play two additional cross-over games. The team with the best Super Round record (based on games against other Super Round teams) will earn a spot in Tokyo 2020 while the second and third place teams will travel to Taiwan to compete in the WBSC Baseball Final Qualifier.

The six-team Final Qualifier will feature host Chinese Taipei along with Australia, China, Netherlands and the second and third place teams from the Americas Qualifier with games taking place at Taichung’s Intercontinental Stadium and Douliou Stadium in Douliu City.

The winner of the event with earn the sixth and final spot in Tokyo 2020.

Tournament format and schedule will be announced at a later date.