Remember, in 2020, France won the European championship in the first Baseball5 competition in Lithuania. Two years later, they can secure their ticket to the World Championship, which will take place in Mexico from November 7th to 13th.
Twelve teams will compete: France, Lithuania, South Africa, Kenya, Australia, Mexico, Chinese Taipei, Japan, South Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Tunisia.
The French team is preparing, and based on the first preliminary list, the coach of the French national team, Lahcène Benhamida, freshly crowned with his victory with the women’s team in baseball for the European Cup, is preparing his selection to go to Mexico. It’s hard to evaluate our chances, as some countries like Cuba, China, or Japan are favorites on paper.
The French team is in Group B alongside Kenya (2nd Africa), South Korea (3rd Asia), Chinese Taipei (Asian champions), Tunisia (3rd Africa), and Venezuela (2nd Americas).
The French team will enter the competition on November 8th and will face their opponents in this order:
- Against Venezuela on 08/11
- Against Kenya on 09/11
- Against South Korea on 09/11
- Against Tunisia on 09/11
- Against China on 10/11
The top three teams from each group will advance to the Super Round in search of a medal. The bottom three will play in the Placement Round.
The French collective during the selections
Baseball5 will then be the occasion for a new world championship for the junior categories in 2023.
A new urban discipline of baseball and softball, Baseball5 has been added to the program of the Youth Olympic Games and will be contested for the first time at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal.
