LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) announced the postponement of the 2021 WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup to 2023. In addition, the WBSC will recognize the 2022 World Games as the top women’s international softball competition for 2022, with the winning team named world champion.

“With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the postponement of the Olympic Games to 2021 and the World Games to 2022, we wanted to ensure softball athletes had an opportunity for world-class competition in each of the next three years,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “We also wanted to do our part to best harmonise the international sports calendar and ensure the primary spotlight remains on the Olympic Games, particularly with how the Tokyo 2020 Games will now be seen as a universal symbol of hope and recovery.”

The World Games 2022 will be held July 7-17 in Birmingham, Ala. Women’s softball is one of the 30-plus sports to be featured during the 11-day multi-sport event. World No. 1 USA (host), No. 2 Japan (wild card), No. 3 Canada, No. 5 Mexico, No. 6 Chinese Taipei, No. 7 China and No. 8 Australia have qualified for the event through last year’s Olympic Qualifiers. The winner of the European Championship 2020, which has been postponed due to the coronavirus, will join them and participate in the eight-team competition.

The next WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup will be played in 2023, and every two years thereafter.

The WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup was last held in Chiba, Japan, in 2018, and also served as an Olympic qualifier, with the USA Softball Women’s National Team claiming the title and berth for Tokyo 2020.

Softball was last featured at the World Games in 2013, in Cali, Colombia.

-- Courtesy of WBSC