24th November: Baseball5 celebrates sixth anniversary

The 24th of November marks a special day for Baseball5, the fast-growing urban sport of baseball and softball. On this day in 2017, on the street alongside historic Estadio Latinoamerico in Cuba, Baseball5 made its historic debut to the world with a launch event featuring university students from four Havana universities.

Such was the success of the event that today nearly 100 countries play the game around the world, Baseball5 is an Olympic sport at the Youth Olympic Games 2026 and Cuba are champions of the WBSC Baseball5 and Youth Baseball5 World Cups.

Baseball5 focuses on accessibility, quick gameplay, and minimal equipment, making the sport an attractive option for communities and organizations aiming to introduce baseball and softball in a diverse environment.

Due to its accessibility, simplicity, and inclusive nature, Baseball5 was demonstrated in Paris, Rome, New York, and the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires as soon as the sport was introduced. It has been played in nearly 100 countries and regions around the world, including the Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan.

Along with the success of baseball and softball at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Basseball5 was showcased in the middle of Tokyo, giving visitors a taste of the five-on-five discipline and providing training sessions and mini-games. The demonstration area attracted 3,617 visitors, 1,936 of whom reported that they enjoyed playing with the instructors and university volunteers.

Following the first WBSC Baseball5 World Cup in Mexico last year, an accomplishment achieved only five years after its world debut, the Youth Baseball5 World Cup held this year in Türkiye became another milestone with three African teams participating in each event.

The second edition of the Baseball5 World Cup has been already announced to be staged at the Central Harbourfront Event Space in Central Hong Kong while, in recognition of its global popularity, Baseball5 is set to make its Olympic debut at the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026.

The future of Baseball5 is promising and the popularity of Baseball5 makes for an exciting six year's ahead for the WBSC's urban, mixed-gender sport.