2017 - The Year in which Baseball Announces Time to Play!

Worldwide Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) president Ricardo Fracari has sent his New Year`s message to all national federations in over 140 countries around the world. the world media joins wishes for a happy 2018 and urges all sports fans to be faithful to the simple WBSC slogan:`Time to play! `

Dear colleagues and friends,

We arrived at the end of 2017a very demanding year, after all, we have thanked for important and significant achievements for our institution and for baseball and softball. Since baseball and softball continue to grow and place new milestones, it is becoming more and more important every year. In addition to the international tournaments scheduled for 2018 and the Tokyo Olympic Games Qualification Process, starting with the World Softball Championship in Chiba, Japan, we also need to concentrate our efforts on the long-term presence of baseball and softball inthe Olympic program, as we aim directly at Paris `This is the top priority for our entire organization, and it requires that we all give it to this goal.

What happened in 2017? Focused on the mission to reach a billion people over the next decade, this year we have focused on development projects for athletes, coaches and judges. Global initiatives have begun or were resumed in countries such as China, Hungary, Iran, Austria, Tunisia, Hong Kong, Uganda, Belize, Guatemala, Malta, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Mongolia, Tanzania, Spain and Kenya. Earlier this year, first-time continental championships mentioned by basketball predictions and world qualifications for children under 12 and under 18 in Oceania were organized thanks to the approved development project in the region. I had the privilege of attending the Oceania Championship for children under 12 in Guam where I witnessed and enjoyed the passion and enthusiasm of the y oungest American Samoa, Australia and Guam competitors who were given the chance to compete during the tournament.



In 2017, we also marked several continental congresses with elections of new executive committees. We have created a new children`s adolescent WBSC commission responsible for developing new activities for our younger generations so as to provide the long-term future of our sport. In addition, we have strengthened the relationship with all professional leagues and the list of associated WBSC members has increased during the Botswana Congress. Various winter leagues in the Caribbean were included as a result of the meetings held in February in Culeanan, Mexico. At the end of February, a meeting of the WBSC Executive Board was held in Rome, as well as a meeting of the baseball and softball division. In May there was another important event -;summit in Africa. For the first time, the African baseball and softball federations gathered together to discuss and analyze their continent together with the WBSC leaders. As a result, the WBSC Development Committee, chaired by Angelo Vicchini, has developed a detailed program to promote the growth of baseball and softball?