Baseball Canada | WBSC sets roadmap to Tokyo 2020

March 27, 2018

WBSC sets roadmap to Tokyo 2020

OTTAWA –The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has announced the qualification process for the Olympic Baseball medal event at Tokyo 2020 that will see six nations competing for medals.

Japan will receive an automatic spot in Tokyo 2020 by virtue of being the host country leaving five spots available that will be filled during qualifications events.

Baseball is returning to the Olympic sport program at Tokyo 2020 after last appearing in the Olympic Games at Beijing 2008. First becoming an official Olympic sport in 1996, Canada has competed in the Olympic Baseball medal event at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

Premier12 (2)

The first opportunity to advance to the Olympic Baseball medal event at Tokyo 2020 will be the WBSC flagship Premier12® in November 2019, where two Olympic spots will be awarded. The Premier12’s top finisher from the Americas and the top finisher from Asia/Oceania (excluding Japan) will earn direct entries into Tokyo 2020 without having to pass through Qualifiers. The Top 12 (“Premier12”) nations in the final 2018 WBSC Baseball World Rankings will compete in this top-tier, elite global battle.

Canada is currently ranked #7 in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings that were released in February.

Africa/Europe Qualifier (1)

The Africa/Europe qualification event will be a six-team tournament, with the winner earning a place at Tokyo 2020. Competing in this Qualifier will be top five finishers from the European Baseball Championship 2019 and the winner of the African Baseball Championship/Qualifier 2019.

Americas Qualifier (1)

The Americas Olympic qualifier, where the winner will advance to Tokyo 2020, will be an eight-team tournament, bringing together all Americas representatives from the WBSC Premier12 2019 that did not qualify for Tokyo 2020. Currently, there are seven nations from the Americas in the Top 12 (Premier12) of the WBSC Baseball World Rankings. The top finisher(s) from the Pan American Games Lima 2019 would complete the eight-team field.

Intercontinental Qualifier (1)

The final Olympic Baseball qualifier will be a six-team world tournament for the last remaining place at Tokyo 2020. Participants will include:

2nd Place finisher from the Africa/Europe Qualifier
2nd and 3rd Place finishers from the Americas Qualifier
Top two finishers from the Asian Championship 2019 (not counting nations already qualified for Tokyo 2020)
Winner of Oceania Qualifier 2019

*Dates and locations for these events will be announced by the WBSC at a later date.

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