World Baseball Softball Confederation

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the worldwide governing body of international baseball and softball. The International Baseball Federation was founded in 1938 and merged with the International Softball Federation in 2013 to form the WBSC; it is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. Ricardo Fraccari is the current president.

The federation organized the Baseball World Cup, the World Championships, the Olympic Baseball Tournament (in conjunction with the International Olympic Committee), Intercontinental Cup and the World Baseball Classic (in conjunction with Major League Baseball). After 2011, only the World Baseball Classic remained as the IBAF and IOC canceled the other events. On January 6, 2006, the IBAF threatened to withdraw its members from the World Baseball Classic if a team representing Cuba was not allowed to participate.

As of 2016, the federation's membership included 141 nations.

History

IBAF logo

The federation was known as the International Baseball Federation from 1938 to 1943, Federación Internacional de Béisbol Amateur (FIBA) from 1944 to 1975, International Baseball Association (AINBA) from 1976 to 1984, International Baseball Association (IBA) from 1984 to 1999 and International Baseball Federation from 2000 to 2013.

From 1973 to 1975 there was another federation called the Federación Mundial de Béisbol Amateur (FEMBA).

Presidents

• Leslie Mann (United States): 1938
• Jaime Mariné (Cuba): 1939 to 1943
• Jorge Reyes (Mexico): 1944 to 1945
• Pablo Morales (Venezuela): 1946 to 1947
• Chale Pereira (Nicaragua): 1948 to 1950
• Pablo Morales (Venezuela): 1951 to 1952
• Carlos M. Zecca (Costa Rica): 1953 to 1968
• FIBA: Juan Isa (Netherlands Antilles): 1969 to 1975 (FIBA from 1973 to 1975)
• FEMBA: Dutch Fehring (United States): 1973 to 1974
• FEMBA: Carlos J. García (Nicaragua): 1975
• Manuel González Guerra (Cuba): 1976 to 1979
• Robert E. Smith (United States): 1981 to 1993
• Aldo Notari (Italy): 1993 to 2006
• Harvey Schiller (United States): 2007 to 2009
• Ricardo Fraccari (Italy): 2009 to

External Links

• Official Site