PYEONGCHANG, Rep. of Korea -- Fukushima's Azuma Baseball Stadium has been added as an official venue for Olympic baseball and softball events at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
The International Olympic Committee approved the 30,000-seat venue at its executive board meetings today in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea.
The Fukushima proposal was put forward in a collaboration between hosts Tokyo 2020 and the world governing body of baseball and softball, WBSC. The region was devastated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Tokyo 2020 and WBSC will work together on a plan to stage Olympic baseball and softball matches featuring Japan's National Teams in Fukushima.
"By hosting Olympic baseball and softball events, Fukushima will have a great platform to show the world the extent of its recovery in the 10 years since the disaster," said Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori.
"WBSC congratulates Tokyo 2020 President Mori and IOC President Bach on this great step taken with Olympic baseball and softball as a vehicle to inspire hope and highlight the regeneration in Fukushima," WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari said. "It is a tremendous honour and a duty we take very seriously to be a part of something so meaningful -- to serve the Olympic Movement and to use the power of sport to shape a better world. It is in this wonderful spirit that WBSC held the U-15 Baseball World Cup last year in Iwaki, Fukushima."
Azuma Stadium has hosted games of Japan's premier sports league, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and will undergo renovation under local authorities.
Yokohama Stadium was previously confirmed as the main venue for baseball and softball events at the Olympic Games in 2020.
WBSC will continue its analysis on the tournament format and qualification methodology for the 2020 Olympic baseball and softball events.
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Contact: media@wbsc.org, @WBSC
WBSC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017
World Baseball Classic
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WBSC Men's Softball World Championship
Whitehorse, Canada - 7 to 16 Jul #2017MWC
WBSC U-19 Junior Women's Softball World Championship
Clearwater, FL, USA - 24 to 30 Jul #2017JWWC
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Thunder Bay, Canada - 1 to 10 Sept #U18WorldCup
About the World Baseball Softball Confederation
Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland -- the Olympic Capital -- the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC has 213 National Federation and Associate Members in 142 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania, which represent a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes and attracts approximately 150 million fans to stadiums worldwide annually.
The WBSC governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Softball World Championships (Men, Women, U-19 Men, and U-19 Women), Premier12, World Baseball Classic, and Baseball World Cups (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women's).
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