The WBSC Americas , formerly known as Pan American Baseball Confederation ( COPABE , Spanish : Confederación Panamericana de Béisbol , Portuguese : Confederação Pan-Americana de Beisebol ), is the governing body of baseball and softball within the Americas .
18-757: Talks of the need of a baseball confederation in the Americas sparked with the founding of the Confederation of European Baseball back in the 1950s, although it was not until 1984, during the World Cup played in Cuba, that 12 countries of the Americas finally voted in favor of a formation of a confederation. The first ever Confederación Panamericana de Béisbol (COPABE) executive meeting was held in March 1985, and 11 countries participated in its first ever Congress on March 15. The Congress saw
36-607: A promotion and relegation system for its federations. The first season of the tournament was held in 1963 and was won by the Picadero Jockey Club Barcelona . Starting in 2008, the tournament is now held in two locations. The best two teams from each tournament then compete in the European Champion Cup "Final Four" , with the winner receiving the European Champion Cup. Between 2013 and 2015,
54-590: A championship that has been running since 1954 in Europe. In 2010, there were 112,303 players in the CEB countries. The ESF was founded in 1976 with 6 members, which were Belgium , France , Italy , Germany , Netherlands , and Spain . The ESF was responsible for operating the European Softball Championships. The Confederation of European Baseball was formed in 1953 . The European Softball Federation
72-697: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , WBSC Europe relocated competitions that had been scheduled to be held in Russia during 2022, and excluded Russian and Belarusian teams from all its 2022 competitions. In April 1953 in Paris , France , 5 countries ( Belgium , France , Germany , Italy and Spain ) gave birth to the European Baseball Federation, originally named in French Féderation Européenne de Baseball (FEB) . The first Executive Committee
90-473: The Champions Cup and European Cup , is an annual baseball tournament , sanctioned and created by WBSC Europe . The tournament features the top teams of the professional baseball leagues in Europe, and is the first tier of the four competitions organized by WBSC Europe , alongside the second-tier European Cup , third-tier Federation Cup , and fourth-tier Federation Cup Qualifiers , which operate with
108-571: The "Final Four" format was replaced with a best-of-three series between the winners of each tournament. In the 2015 tournament , six teams competed in the Paris group, while six other teams competed in Rotterdam. The best two teams then competed in the "Final Four" in Italy, in a best-of-three series, for the championship. In early 2024, WBSC Europe announced a restructuring of its European club competitions, with
126-698: The 2009 season, only a single European Cup for Clubs is played. Miller resigned from the presidency during the 2012 Congress in Rotterdam . Petr Ditrich of the Czech Republic was the interim president until the 2013 Congress in Bled , Slovenia, that elected Jan Esselman of the Netherlands as the new president. In 1976 in Rome , Italy , 6 countries ( Belgium , France , Germany , Italy , Netherlands and Spain ) gave birth to
144-712: The Cup Winners Cup in 1990 and the CEB Cup in 1993. Martin Miller of Germany, who had been part of the executive since 1995, succeeded Aldo Notari (who was nominated Honorary President) in 2005, during the Congress in Prague . Miller was confirmed as president during the 2009 Congress in San Marino . During Miller's presidency, the number of European Cups for Clubs was reduced to two. Starting in
162-1772: The European Softball Federation (ESF). The first Executive Committee was formed by President Bruno Benek of Italy and Secretary General Theo Vleeshhouwer of Netherlands. Highest Ranked Europe member in the WBSC Rankings Last Updated: 6 August 2023 Source: Source: Coed Slowpitch European Super Cup 2023 07/08/2023 12/08/2023 August European Softball Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy - Sport Division 2023 European Softball Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy - Sport Division 2023 16/08/2023 19/08/2023 August European Softball Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy - Future Division 2023 European Softball Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy - Future Division 2023 16/08/2023 19/08/2023 August Women’s Softball European Premier Cup 2023 Women’s Softball European Premier Cup 2023 21/08/2023 26/08/2023 August Women’s Softball European Cup Winners Cup “A” 2023 Women’s Softball European Cup Winners Cup “A” 2023 21/08/2023 26/08/2023 August Women’s Softball European Cup Winners Cup “B” 2023 Women’s Softball European Cup Winners Cup “B” 2023 21/08/2023 26/08/2023 August Women’s Softball European Cup 2023 Women’s Softball European Cup 2023 23/08/2023 26/08/2023 August Men’s Softball European Super Cup 2023 Men’s Softball European Super Cup 2023 28/08/2023 02/09/2023 October Men's European Softball Masters Cup 2023 Men's European Softball Masters Cup 2023 25/10/2023 28/10/2023 October Women's European Softball Masters 2023 Women's European Softball Masters 2023 Notes European Cup (baseball) The Baseball European Champions Cup (BECC), formerly called
180-480: The election of Oswaldo Matias Flores (Cuba) as the first president of the organization. On October 5, 1987, the first Pan American Championship was played (Cuba won the tournament). The day after the final game of the tournament was held, the Congress elected Edwin Zerpa Pizzorno (Venezuela) as the next president of the organization. In the late 1980s and early 1990s COPABE concentrated on developing tournaments at
198-545: The historic merger of the Confederation of European Baseball ( CEB ) and the European Softball Federation ( ESF ). As of September 2022, WBSC Europe counts 40 members for baseball and 39 for softball. The CEB was founded in 1953 with 5 members, which were Belgium , France , West Germany , Italy and Spain . The CEB was responsible for operating the European Baseball Championship ,
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#1733086214061216-464: The seventh member, and FEB became an eight-country federation in London in 1960 when Great Britain was accepted. In 1963 FEB launched their first club competition . The first European champion of the club competition was Picadero Barcelona . In 1967 the federations of Italy and the Netherlands announced their withdrawal from FEB and founded a new Federation: Fédération Amateur Baseball . In April 1969
234-553: The two Federations re-entered FEB. In 1971 another Italian, Bruno Beneck, succeeded Steno Borghese during the Congress held in Milan . San Marino was accepted as the ninth member. In 1972 the organization changed its name to European Amateur Baseball Confederation or CEBA, according to the French Confederation Européenne de Baseball Amateur . In 1974 the first U-18 European Championship for players of age 18 and under
252-541: The youth level all over the Americas. Highest Ranked Americas member in the WBSC Rankings Confederation of European Baseball The World Baseball Softball Confederation Europe, known as WBSC Europe , was established on February 10, 2018, during a Congress of the Confederation of European Baseball and the European Softball Federation in Val d’Europe, France. the establishment of WBSC Europe followed
270-570: Was elected as the 4th president of the organization during the 1987 Congress in Barcelona . During the 1990s the number of member countries increased dramatically up to 33 by 1994, at which time it was decided to drop the word Amateur from the name of the Confederation, known since then as CEB: Confederation Européenne du Baseball in French and Confederation of European Baseball in English. CEB also created
288-644: Was formed by President Steno Borghese of Italy, Secretary General Roger Panaye of Belgium and Vice President and head of the Technical Commission Luis Barrio of Spain. In 1954 the first European Championship was played in Belgium and Italy claimed the victory. The sixth member country, the Netherlands , was accepted at the 1956 Congress in Milan . In 1957 in Amsterdam , Netherlands , Sweden became
306-408: Was formed in 1976 , which then merged (baseball and softball) and formed into WBSC Europe in 2018 . On February 14, 2018, in Paris , France , the delegates of 38 National Baseball and Softball Federations approved the merger of the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB) and the European Softball Federation (ESF) at the joint European Baseball Softball Congress in Paris, France. In reaction to
324-552: Was played. The first title went to the Netherlands. The Dutch also claimed the first U-16 title in 1975. In 1979, during the Congress in Trieste , Italy, Denmark was accepted as the 10th member. There were already 15 member countries when, in 1985, during the Congress in Zandvoort , Netherlands, Guus Van der Heiden of the Netherlands succeeded Bruno Beneck as the president. When Van der Heiden died, Italian Federation President Aldo Notari
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