— Published January 18, 2026
Institutions Focus
Urban and fast disciplines are on the rise. Baseball5 is one of them. This version of baseball/softball has the advantage of requiring little equipment, being played on any surface and with only five players per team, which makes it much easier to spread around the world. The World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) has understood this well and is increasingly pushing this discipline, like the IFAF with flag football.
An “impressive” expansion
The year 2025 confirmed this trend, as highlighted the president of the WBSC, Riccardo Fraccari : « The popularity of our disciplines in multi-sport events continues to grow, with baseball, softball and baseball5 all featured in the Southeast Asian Games, baseball5 added to the Mediterranean Games program as an additional sport, and baseball and softball included in the Bolivarian Games and Pacific Mini-Games. » The organizing committee for the Prishtina 2030 Mediterranean Games has also listed baseball5 among the potential additional sports in its program.
« I’m excited to see baseball5 continue its impressive global expansion, reach new audiences around the world and create new avenues for young people to engage with our sport », Says the president. The discipline will occupy a central place in the memorandum of understanding recently signed with the International School Sports Federation (ISF). “ Inclusive and inexpensive », and baseball5 « perfectly matches the ISF’s vision of an accessible school sport » says ISF president Željko Tanasković. And what better way than schools to reach young people and familiarize them with this sport?
The Dakar YOG, “a historic moment”
The Youth Baseball World Cup5, organized in Mexico in September, brought together 16 teams, four more than before. An evolution which also reflects the growth of the discipline. For the first time, the tournament saw the participation of a refugee team. “ Not only was it a great experience on the field, but also a great cultural experience off it, with all the other participating teams being very welcoming and friendly ”, according to head coach Amjed Alatoom. The WBSC has also worked to introduce baseball5 to refugee camps such as Azraq, Jordan, and Kakuma, Kenya.
This 16-team format will be duplicated this year at the Senior World Cup in Rome. Another first. The Dakar Youth Olympic Games will also mark “ a historic moment » with the debut of baseball5 at the YOG. “ This is an important milestone that we have been working towards for many years », welcomes Riccardo Fraccari, who obviously sees further. “ We are now counting down the days until Los Angeles 2028, when baseball and softball will return to the Olympic stage, and we are working hard to have our sport included at Brisbane 2032. I am confident that baseball/softball will be a wonderful addition to the Brisbane 2032 sports programme. »
