The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has announced that they have awarded sanction to World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI) for the 2017 World Baseball Classic and the tournament's qualifying rounds to be held in 2016.
Under the renewed partnership the WBC, an entity jointly governed by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, will stage the fourth edition of the World Baseball Classic, which will feature the top nations in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings from all continents – comprising a global representation of 28 National Teams.
The 2017 World Baseball Classic will also be recognized by WBSC as its Official men's Baseball World Championship, with the winning nation crowned the world champion.
"Through this successful partnership, the World Baseball Classic has helped to elevate the popularity, value and attractiveness of National Team properties and gives the fans another great opportunity to see some of their favorite players playing for their countries.” WBSC President, Fraccari.
