With the same kindness and affection that he has always had towards Cuban baseball, Riccardo Fraccari, head of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) addressed a press conference, held on January 14 at the Latin American stadium in Havana, several of the most current issues related to this discipline at the local and Olympic level.
The leader explained that this visit is very stimulating for him “to honor 60 years of the National Series and address the cooperation of the WBSC with the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) in search of more development”, while he will also take the opportunity to greet friends such as Antonio Muñoz, in Cienfuegos, and learn about other plans such as the Baseball Academy.
That Cuba has not gone to the Olympic Games for the first time is something that deserves attention and work, Fraccari began by saying, who valued as positive that the FCB has allowed players to play and rejoin professional leagues for some time.
He argued that he is against the rupture of the Agreement between Major League Baseball and the FCB due to political issues, but called on the FCB to increase its presence in other leagues, clubs and countries around the world, for which the WBSC can support and collaborate a lot, based on what was signed on his previous visit to the Island.
Regarding the return of baseball to the Olympic program, the Italian called for a better reflection on why it was not there before. “We are thinking of seven tickets for the Olympic Games because that decreases the number of players,” he said before arguing that baseball competes for the Los Angeles 2028 event with other disciplines that are of great interest to young people.
He looked optimistically at everything that is being done in Baseball-FIVE, which has found incredible development in many countries, including Africa. “Cuba has also contributed a lot in this modality. We are working hard to return to the Olympic program and give a good image, argued Fracarri.
Responding to whether the WBSC could grant Cuba the organization of an international event in the coming years, the former referee in our National Series, pointed out that all the events are already delivered until 2023 and 2024, but we are willing to evaluate when Cuba ask to arrange it.
Regarding the World Classic, corresponding to March 2023, he revealed that it is still on hold due to the evolution of the pandemic, while rejecting the presentation of a Cuba team outside the FCB, as some US media have been insinuating. in the last weeks.
“No other Cuba team can be admitted other than the one presented by the Cuban Federation because the World Classics is an event that recognizes and is organized from the national federations,” said the top manager of the WBSC.
Finally, asked about the WBSC’s vision regarding the boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Fraccari criticized linking the values of Olympism with political issues, as this affects the participation of athletes.
