Nepal staging first-ever National Baseball Championship as global growth of baseball-softball continues

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The World Baseball Softball Confederation has welcomed and applauded the historic launch of the first-ever Nepal Baseball Championship, which opened today at the Army Physical Training and Sports Centre in Lagankhel.

The Nepal Baseball and Softball Association (NBSA), which was established in 2009 and is one of WBSC’s 209 full members, is staging the country’s inaugural baseball national championship in cooperation with the National Sports Council and the Nepal Olympic Committee, while the Rajdhani National Daily is the official media partner of the event.

“This first national championship is one of the most historic moments of baseball’s development in Nepal,” said NBSA President Asit SJB Rana. “Today marks an exciting new era in the development of baseball in Nepal. We hope this new platform will serve as a great stage for players to aim for and showcase their talents.”

WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari said, “The WBSC congratulates the Nepal Baseball and Softball Association on this historic day for Nepal and for our global sport.  Baseball and softball continue to make steady progress and gains in popularity in emerging territories across Asia and around the world, and we anticipate accelerated growth and further momentum in our sport leading to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and beyond.”

The inaugural national baseball tournament — which constitutes the highest level of competition for the sport in Nepal – features five club teams from across the country. The teams will meet over three days and eight games before Nepal’s first-ever national baseball champion is crowned on Sunday (18 December).

NBSA officials will also utilise the national championship to identify the country’s top baseball players who will represent Nepal at the West Asian Baseball Cup 2017 in Islamabad, Pakistan, next February.  Currently unranked, Nepal is set to break through the WBSC Baseball World Rankings following the international competition in Islamabad.