The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has announced the groups for the 2024 WBSC Baseball5 World Cup, to be held from October 7 to 12, 2024 at the Central Harbourfront Event Space in Hong Kong, China.

The Central Harbourfront Event Space, with an open space of 36,000 square metres, is an inspiring venue for the 12-team competition. After the first edition of the WBSC Baseball World Cup 2022 was held in El Zocalo, Mexico, the venue is another iconic location as it is set against the stunning backdrop of the Hong Kong skyline.

The tournament will involve 12 teams, divided into two groups of six teams each according to the criteria listed below to ensure a balanced and competitive tournament.

Rational group formation process in English
Rational group formation process in Spanish

In Group A, world number one Chinese Taipei, who finished third in 2022, will face defending champion and world number two Cuba, world number six South Africa, Lithuania, 10th, Venezuela and host Hong Kong (China), number 17.

Group B should be just as exciting, as it includes Tunisia (3rd in the world rankings), France (4th), Japan (5th and 2022 silver medalist), Mexico (7th), China (9th) and Australia (39th).

The tournament will feature teams from five continents, with the Americas and Asia each having three spots, Africa and Europe each having two spots, and Oceania having one spot plus a host/wildcard spot.

The WBSC grouping criteria focuses on three main factors – continental balance, continental tier based on the WBSC/KONAMI Baseball5 World Rankings as of December 31, 2023, and results from qualifying events.

Originally, the groups were divided so that the Americas 1, Asia 2 and America 3 teams were in Group A, while the Asia 1, America 2 and Asia 3 teams were in Group B. To maintain continental balance, the host team from Asia was placed in Group A and Oceania in Group B. With this adjustment, Group A now consisted of the Americas 1, Asia 2, America 3 and the host team, while the teams in Group B consisted of Asia 1, America 2, Asia 3 and Oceania.

Next, the top-ranked teams from Europe and Africa based on the WBSC/KONAMI Baseball5 World Rankings were added. Europe 1 (France) and Africa 1 (Tunisia) were divided into different groups to maintain balance. This resulted in Group A with Americas 1, Asia 2, Americas 3, the host team, Europe 1 and Africa 2 and Group B with Asia 1, Americas 2, Asia 3, Oceania, Africa 1 and Europe 2.

Finally, the final groups will be determined using the criteria for allocating teams based on their rankings and results. Group A will include Cuba (Americas 1), Chinese Taipei (Asia 2), Venezuela (Americas 3), Hong Kong (hosts), Lithuania (Europe 1) and South Africa (Africa 2). Group B will include Japan (Asia 1), Mexico (Americas 2), China (Asia 3), Australia (Oceania), Tunisia (Africa 1) and France (Europe 2).

The schedule for the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024 will be announced in the coming weeks.

At the inaugural edition of the WBSC Baseball World Cup 2022 in Mexico, Cuba, Japan and Chinese Taipei finished on the podium, while host Hong Kong (China) finished 12th.