Baseball und Softball sind bei den Olympischen Spielen 2020 in Tokio wieder mit dabei. Nun gab der Weltverband (WBSC) bekannt, wie die sich die sechs Softball Teams (Damen) und die sechs Baseball Teams (Herren) qualifizieren:

Japan ist als Gastgeber der Sommerspiele jeweils gesetzt. Im Baseball werden außerdem zwei Spots beim Premier12® Turnier 2019 vergeben, bei dem die besten 12 Nationen nach Weltrangliste teilnehmen. Im Softball erhält der Weltmeister von 2018 einen Fixstartplatz. Die restlichen Nationen werden über regionale Qualifier vergeben.

Europas Weg zu Olympia
Gleich sechs europäische Softballnationen und fünf europäische Baseballländer haben die Chance über den Regional Qualifier mit Afrika das Ticket nach Tokio zu buchen. Während im Baseball die besten fünf Teams der Baseball EM 2019 in einem Turnier (Frühjahr 2020) mit dem Afrikameister um einen Startplatz kämpfen, sind es im Softball die besten sechs Teams aus der Softball EM 2019, die wiederum mit gegen die zwei besten afrikanischen Nationen in einem Turnier (voraussichtlich Herbst 2019) antreten. In einem Wild-Card Turnier hätte dann das zweitplatzierte Team des Regional Qualifiers noch eine letzte Chance, müsste aber gegen weitere fünf Topteams um den letzten Spot bei der Rückkehr von Baseball und Softball ins olympische Programm kämpfen.

Für Österreich sind die beiden regionalen Qualifikationsturniere zumindest in Sichtweite. Während unsere Damen sicherlich eine gute Chance auf Platz 6 in Europa haben (2013 und 2015 konnte the Red Machine bei den EMs jeweils Platz 6 erreichen, Anm.), steht führ das Baseball Nationalteam erst einmal die Hürde um den Aufstieg in den A-Pool bevor. Ende Juni 2018 steigt dazu die EM Playoff Series, eine Best-of-3 Serie gegen Litauen von 29.6.-1.7. in Wiener Neustadt. Gewinnt Team Austria das Turnier, so stehen 2019 beide Senior Nationalteams, Softball und Baseball, vor der Teilnahme an der jeweiligen Europameisterschaft.

Untenstehend die Pressemitteilung des WBSC:

PARIS — 24 March 2018 — Following the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Executive Meeting held today at the headquarters of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, the WBSC revealed the qualification system for the six-team baseball and softball events at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, as approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

WBSC Members and affiliated National Teams will have the opportunity to qualify for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad exclusively through eight WBSC international tournaments, four for baseball and four for softball.

„The eight competitions to get into Tokyo 2020 promise to deliver some of the most exciting and meaningful international baseball and softball games ever seen,“ said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. „As the biggest sport in Japan, the historic return of Olympic Baseball and Softball is expected to make a major buzz and be a magical experience for the athletes and spectators alike, so we can expect that millions around the world will have their sights set on Tokyo 2020 and do whatever they can to be a part of it.“

Host nation Japan will be automatically entered into the men’s baseball and women’s softball medal events at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

ROAD TO TOKYO 2020 – BASEBALL

The first opportunity to advance to the Olympic Baseball medal event at Tokyo 2020 will be the WBSC flagship Premier12® in November 2019, where two Olympic spots will be awarded. The Premier12’s top finisher from the Americas and the top finisher from Asia/Oceania (excluding Japan) will earn direct entries into Tokyo 2020 without having to pass through Qualifiers. The Top 12 („Premier12“) nations in the final 2018 WBSC Baseball World Rankings will compete in this top-tier, elite global battle.

Africa/Europe Qualifier

The Africa/Europe qualification event will be a six-team tournament, with the winner earning a place at Tokyo 2020. Competing in this Qualifier will be top five finishers from the European Baseball Championship 2019 and the winner of the African Baseball Championship/Qualifier 2019.

Americas Qualifier

The Americas Olympic qualifier, where the winner will advance to Tokyo 2020, will be an eight-team tournament, bringing together all Americas representatives from the WBSC Premier12 2019 that did not qualify for Tokyo 2020. Currently, there are seven nations from the Americas in the Top 12 (Premier12) of the WBSC Baseball World Rankings. The top finisher(s) from the Pan American Games Lima 2019 would complete the eight-team field

Intercontinental Qualifier

The final Olympic Baseball qualifier will be a six-team world tournament for the last remaining place at Tokyo 2020. Participants will include:

• 2nd Place finisher from the Africa/Europe Qualifier
• 2nd and 3rd Place finishers from the Americas Qualifier
• Top two finishers from the Asian Championship 2019 (not counting nations already qualified for Tokyo 2020)
• Winner of Oceania Qualifier 2019

Men’s National Baseball Team Composition

National Team roster sizes for Olympic Baseball will be 24 athletes, and the athletes must be at least 18 years old (prior to the start of the respective event) to participate in any of the four qualification events as well as the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 tournament. Professional players are eligible. Athletes must comply with Olympic Charter Rule 41 (Nationality of Competitors) and Rule 43 (World Anti-Doping Code and the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of Manipulation of Competitions).

ROAD TO TOKYO 2020 – SOFTBALL

The first opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Softball medal event at Tokyo 2020 will be this August at the WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship 2018 in Chiba, Japan. The 1st Place finisher in Chiba will be awarded direct entry into Tokyo 2020 without having to pass through Qualifiers. (Should Japan win the WBSC World Championship in Chiba, the 2nd Place finisher would be granted the Olympic spot.)

Africa/Europe Qualifier

The Africa/Europe qualification event will be an eight-team tournament, where the winner will earn a place at Tokyo 2020. Competing in this Qualifier will be top six finishers from the European Softball Championship 2019 and the top two teams from the African Softball Championship 2019.

Americas Qualifier

The Americas Olympic qualifier will be a maximum 16-team tournament, with the winner and the 2nd Place nation advancing to Tokyo 2020. Eligible nations to compete in this Qualifier will be based on the finals standings of the Pan American Championship 2019.

Asia/Oceania Qualifier

The Asia/Oceania Qualifier will be an eight-team tournament, with the winner advancing to Tokyo 2020. Competing in this Qualifier (not counting already qualified nations for Tokyo 2020) will be top six finishers from the Asian Softball Championship 2019 and the top two teams from the Oceania Softball Championship 2019.

Women’s National Softball Team Composition

National Team roster sizes for Olympic Softball will be 15 athletes, and the athletes must be at least 16 years old (prior to the start of the respective event) to participate in any of the four qualification events as well as the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 tournament. Professional players are eligible. Athletes must comply with Olympic Charter Rule 41 (Nationality of Competitors) and Rule 43 (World Anti-Doping Code and the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of Manipulation of Competitions).

WBSC will announce dates, locations/hosts and respective broadcast rights agreements of the Qualifiers in future news releases.