The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is heading to Tokyo this week to launch the 2020 Olympics Campaign and ratify a historic new constitution in line with its pledge to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The Congress will see the constitutional birth of a new combined baseball and softball federation in a bid for Olympic reinstatement.
IBAF President and new World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Co-President Riccardo Fraccari said, “this is about far more than simply ratifying a legal document. This is a major achievement in a two-year campaign that embodies the dreams of millions of men and women, and boys and girls around the world – from the professional leagues to the grassroots level – who want to play for their country in the Olympic Games, the pinnacle of sporting excellence”.
Following the Congress, the World Baseball Softball Confederation is also planning to launch the next phase of its bid leading up to a presentation before the IOC Executive Board at the end of May.
The WBSC will also unveil a new campaign logo, theme and web site.
Meanwhile two other sports are competing in an alternative Olympic contest to be included in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games – 3-on-3 basketball and BMX freestyle.
IOC sports director Christope Dubi told The Associated Press Monday that the Olympics sports federations have been “extremely creative” with their requests. He said, “all of them believe that adding something will be fantastic for their sport. We look at it from the other angle, – will that bring, or not, an added value to the Olympic Games”.
The IOC executive board is to decide August 9 in Moscow which events to add after studying reports from Dubi’s department.
