Press release Confederation of European Baseball, European Softball Federation
Officials from the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB) and the European Softball Federation (ESF), including CEB President Jan Esselman and ESF President Andre van Overbeek, met in Prague on September 10 to discuss the position of the two organizations in relation to each other and the future of both sports in Europe.
This followed the decision, authorized by the Boards of both organizations in May 2015, to form a working group to formalize a structure for future cooperation.
The Confederations have agreed to create the European Baseball and Softball (CEB/ESF) Joint Steering Committee, which will provide guidance on key issues such as joint objectives in marketing and media, development strategy and operational issues such as joint Congresses and joint-venue competitions.
This agreement allows both organizations to cooperate in alliance, expressing their joint aspirations, while keeping their respective Confederations independent.
Three joint Commissions that will immediately be established are:
- Development
- Marketing and Media
- General Operations
Implementation of the alliance will begin immediately and projects and plans will be prepared within the next few months.
The significance of this alliance and joint venture is to promote and support the concept of the unification of the sports at the Olympic level through the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC), while allowing Regional Confederations around the world to continue to develop the sports at regional and local levels, both independently and also jointly in areas where it is beneficial to work together.
CEB and the ESF hope that this concept of a regional alliance in Europe will contribute to the decision of the IOC in 2016 for the reinstatement of baseball and softball to the 2020 Olympics and beyond.