Team Italy's road to the 2020 Olympics
Azzurri baseball manager Gilberto "Gibo" Gerali and women's softball manager Enrico Obletter are prepared to do whatever it takes to get Team Italy into the 2020 Olympics. Although both skippers share a common goal for their respective teams, the way in which they qualify for the world's biggest international competition in Tokyo differs. Unlike host nation Japan, the powerhouse which is automatically entered into the men's baseball and women's softball Olympic medal events, Team Italy must win the 2019 Africa/Europe Qualifier to guarantee a spot in the 2020 Olympics.
The top five teams from the 2019 European Baseball Championship and the winner of the 2019 African Baseball Championship will compete in the 2019 Africa/Europe Qualifier. The winner of the competition will earn the right to participate in the 2020 Olympics. Team Italy manager Gibo Gerali knows winning the 2019 Africa/Europe Qualifier is his best shot in qualifying his squad for a trip to Tokyo. Should Team Italy place second in the 2019 Africa/Europe Qualifier, the Azzurri would have another chance to secure the last remaining spot for the 2020 Olympics by winning the Intercontinental Qualifier. This six-team world tournament pools together the second place finisher from the Africa/Europe Qualifier, the second and third place finishers from the Americas Qualifier, the top two finishers from the 2019 Asian Championship (not including nations already qualified for the Olympics), and the winner of 2019 Oceania Qualifier. Not exactly the path Team Italy's Gibo Gerali would like to take in order to get to Tokyo, the Intercontinental Qualifier appears to be a much more difficult road to the 2020 Olympics. Regardless of the method Team Italy goes about to qualify for a ticket to Tokyo, Gibo Gerali will be allowed to travel with 24 professional baseball players who are 18 or older prior to the start of any of the qualifying events to execute his game plan to win.
Team Italy manager Enrico Obletter's first opportunity to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Softball medal event in Tokyo will be this August at the 2018 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women's Softball World Championship in Chiba, Japan. The winner of the WBSC international competition will be guaranteed a spot in the 2020 Olympics. Should Japan win the WBSC World Championship in Chiba, the runner-up would be granted the Olympic spot. The only other chance for Team Italy to qualify for a pass to Tokyo is winning the eight-team Africa/Europe Qualifier, which is comprised of the top six finishers from the 2019 European Softball Championship and the top two teams from the 2019 African Softball Championship. With very little margin for error, experienced Team Italy skipper Enrico Obletter realizes he will need to assemble his very best 15 professional players who are 16 or older before the commencement of any of the qualifying events in order to compete against softball's elite for a chance to play in the 2020 Olympics. Forza #Italia! #LetsMakeItHappen
by Roberto Angotti
