The World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) has awarded the hosting rights for the first WBSC Baseball5 Youth World Cup to the dynamic city of Ankara, Turkey. This historic event will mark the first international baseball/softball event in the country.
Ankara will host the tournament from October 10 to 15 at the Yenimahalle Metropolitan District Sports Complex (Yenimahalle Spor Kompleksi).
« We are thrilled to host a WBSC World Cup for the first time in your country, » wrote Riccardo Fraccari, President of the WBSC, to the Turkish Baseball and Softball Federation. « We are grateful for your commitment to promoting youth sports and we are excited to partner with you to launch the new urban discipline with the first edition of the WBSC Baseball5 Youth World Cup.
The Baseball5 Youth World Cup marks a new milestone in the incredible journey of this dynamic, fast-paced urban sport, Baseball5, following the first WBSC Baseball5 World Cup last year in Mexico. Having quickly gained popularity worldwide, Baseball5 is also set to make its Olympic debut at the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games.
Ankara, located in the heart of Anatolia, has been the capital of the country since the founding of the Republic on October 29, 1923. The city has 5.1 million inhabitants in its urban center and 5.7 million including the provinces.
The foundation of Ankara dates back to the Hattian civilization of the Bronze Age (3300-1200 BC) and offers various Hattian, Hittite, Lydian, Phrygian, Galatian, Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman archaeological sites. It was the capital of the Galatian state (280-64 BC), a Roman province (25 BC-7th century), and an Ottoman capital since 1393.
Which teams are in contention:
For the French side, France holds the second rank in the world. This competition will be an opportunity to solidify and confirm this supremacy. France is the reigning European champion after winning the first edition of the European Championships last year in Bulgaria. The team selected by the coach is as follows:
First match this Tuesday:
