WBSC Women's Softball World Cup ready for lift off

The best of the best of international women's softball is ready to go with the start of the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup taking place on Tuesday at the Balbriggan All Weather Field in Fingal-Dublin in Ireland.

Group A in Fingal-Dublin, Ireland start proceedings with world No. 1 and 12-time champions USA taking on hosts and world No. 17 Ireland, No. 9 Australia, No. 3 Chinese Taipei, No. 16 Great Britain and No. 43 Botswana with the the top two teams moving on to next year’s Finals in Italy.

In a major international sporting rivalry, Australia take on Great Britain in the first game of the tournament on Tuesday at 12:00 local time.

It will be an historic moment for the sport, with three countries - Ireland, Spain and Italy - hosting a WBSC Softball World Cup for the first time while it will be the first two-stage tournament for the WBSC. The top two teams from each group will “punch a ticket” to the Finals next year.

Group B in Valencia, Spain sees the hosts, ranked 12th in the world, welcome No. 11 China, No. 28 Cuba, No. 10 Netherlands, No. 4 Puerto Rico and No. 38 South Africa from 18-22 July.

Group C in Castions di Strada and Buttrio, Italy sees world No. 2 and Olympic champions Japan, No. 5 Canada, No. 8 Italy, No. 26 Philippines and No. 29 New Zealand in action from 22-26 July.

The first edition of the WBSC Softball World Cup took place in 1965 with five teams, Australia winning the title ahead of USA and Japan with New Zealand and Papua New Guinea completing the lineup.

Sixteen editions plus the World Games later, there will be 18 teams with three new hosts starting on Tuesday.

Three countries have played in every edition of the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup - Australia (one gold, one silver and six bronze medals), New Zealand (one gold, one silver and two bronze) and USA (12 gold, four silver). USA has only once not reached the final, finishing fourth in 1982.

The last time USA lost a final was in 2014, to Japan who has won three gold, seven silver and two bronze medals in 16 appearances.

Key Links

• Group A Preview: USA start as favourites
• Group B Preview: Tight battle for a spot in the Finals
• Group C Preview: World No. 2 and Olympic champs Japan lead exciting field
• Where to Watch and keep up with the Group Stage action
• History of the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup
• 12 players to watch
• XVII WBSC Women's Softball World Cup by the numbers
• New Two-Stage Format adds teams, host cities & excitement to XVII Women’s Softball World Cup
• New softball Mizuno M170 to make historic debut at Group Stage
• XVII WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Finals to be played in July 2024 in Italy
• Watch international baseball and softball live; WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup headlines GameTime 2023 subscription offers