Team Italy will participate in first-ever U18 Women's Softball World Cup
Replacing the U19 Women’s Softball World Championship, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has announced the formation of the newly created U18 Women’s Softball World Cup, which will take place in Lima, Peru from August 21-30, 2020. It has been nearly eight years since a Softball World Cup competition has been held in Latin America. Argentina hosted the U19 Men’s Softball World Cup in 2012.
Team Italy is among the 16 countries slated to participate in the WBSC U18 Women’s Softball World Cup at Lima's Villa María del Triunfo Sports Complex, venue for the recent 2019 Pan American Games softball tournament. “WBSC is very happy with the awarding of the U18 Women’s Softball World Cup to Peru,” said WBSC Softball Chairman Tommy Velazquez. “After the amazing softball success at the Pan American Games Lima 2019, we’re very proud to continue building the legacy of this event, awarding Peru the hosting rights of one of the most important international softball events in the world.”
The final WBSC U19 Women’s Softball World Championship was held in Irvine, California from August 10-17, 2019. Undefeated USA (10-0) beat Japan 4-3 in extra innings to claim its third consecutive U19 world championship title. Team Italy (2-4) placed 11th in the 16-country international tourney.
In the 2020 WBSC U18 Women’s Softball World Cup, the European continent is proudly represented by Team Italy (ranked #9), Kingdom of the Netherlands (ranked #10), and Czech Republic (ranked #15). The Americas are represented by defending U19 World Champion USA (ranked #1) Canada (ranked #3), Puerto Rico (ranked #4), Mexico (ranked #5), and host Peru (ranked #20). Asia is represented by Japan (ranked #2), Chinese Taipei (ranked #6), and China (ranked #8).
The wild card was awarded to the Philippines (ranked #13), fourth place finishers in the Asian Junior Women's U19 Softball Championship. Two representatives from Africa and two representatives from Oceania will round out the 16 nations participating in the 2020 WBSC U18 Women’s Softball World Cup. Those remaining four countries will be revealed upon the completion of the U18 Women’s Softball Regional Qualification Event, which will take place in Canberra, Australia from February 15-16, 2020. Forza #Italia!
by Roberto Angotti
