The 12U Euro Baseball tournament runs from July 5 to 9, 2023, in Valenciennes, Hauts-de-France.
It brings together the eight best national teams on the continent competing for the European Championship title.
In 2023, it won’t serve as a qualifying event for the World Championship, as the Under-12 Baseball World Cup will be held this year.
Germany is participating in the 2023 Under-12 European Baseball Championship as the defending champion, after beating Czechoslovakia in a thrilling gold-medal match last year in Vienna, Austria.
Germany and Czechoslovakia hope to return to the finals but are also using this year’s U-12 Euros to prepare at a high level for the next WBSC Under-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan City, Taiwan, at the end of July.
This is the second time France is hosting the competition, the first since 1994.
Two pools will play over four days, culminating in a final that is sure to be fiercely contested. France is in Group A against Germany, England, and Italy. The young French players enter the competition this Wednesday at 6 PM against Italy, Thursday at 6 PM against Germany (the defending champions), and Friday at 6 PM against England.
Since 2006, the Czech Republic has won seven Under-12 European Baseball Championships. However, they haven’t lifted the winner’s trophy since 2015. Since then, Germany has won in 2016 and 2022. In 2017, 2019, and 2021, Italy celebrated the championship.
The France Under-12 Baseball Team is one of the most decorated in the Federation, with two silver medals and one bronze at the Euros, participation in the 2015 World Cup, and a victory at the 2017 Francophone Baseball 12U Tournament on the sidelines of the Francophone Games in Côte d’Ivoire.
