One Year to Go: WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Finals 2027 on the horizon as LA28 Olympic qualification pathway takes shape

With one year to go until the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Finals, excitement is building as the Road to the LA28 Olympic Games for softball prepares to begin.

Scheduled from 5–11 April 2027 in Redcliffe, Australia, the Finals will mark the first qualification event for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic softball competition, with one berth available.

The highest-ranked team in the final standings (excluding host nation USA) will secure the first of five available Olympic spots.

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Talobilla Park, located just 45 minutes outside Brisbane, will host the top eight teams in the world, competing for the title of World Champions and a place at LA28.

"With a year to go until the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Finals, you can feel the lift across our squad," said Australian Head Coach Kerrie Porter. "This event began in Melbourne in 1965 and Australia has been part of its story ever since. Our athletes want to represent that legacy the right way in front of our community, and we are equally proud to welcome the international softball family to our shores."

The Road to LA28 begins in 2026

Softball's Road to LA28 begins this summer, with the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Group Stage taking place in Prague, Lima and Oklahoma City - the softball venue for the next Summer Olympics.

Only one of 17 participating teams across the three groups will book their ticket to LA28 in Redcliffe in April 2027.

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The 18 teams have been split into three groups:

• Group Prague (June 16-20): No. 4 Canada; No. 5 Chinese Taipei; No. 9 Italy; No. 10 Czechia; No. 11 Australia; No. 14 Cuba.
• Group Lima (July 14-18): No. 1 Japan; No. 3 Puerto Rico; No. 12 Great Britain; No. 13 Philippines; No. 16 Venezuela; and No. 18 Peru.
• Group Oklahoma City (September 12-16): No. 2 USA; No. 6 Netherlands; No. 7 Mexico; No. 8 China; No. 23 New Zealand; and No. 36 South Africa.

The top two teams from each group, plus two wild cards, will compete for the biggest prize in the softball world. Australia has a secured spot in the Finals as hosts.

A historic return

The 2027 Finals will mark a historic return of the Women’s Softball World Cup to Australia, the host of the inaugural edition in 1965. 

The first WBSC Women's Softball World Cup was played at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, in February 1965, with five participating teams: Australia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and USA. In one of the fiercest battles in softball history, the Australians emerged with a 1-0 triumph over USA to claim the first world title on 21 February, 1965. 

Held one year before LA28, the event will not only crown a world champion but also set the tone for softball’s sixth appearance on the Olympic stage.

Olympic champions Japan are the current World Championship holders, having beaten USA in the final in 2024.

Olympic qualification pathway

In addition to the one ticket on offer at the WBSC Women's Softball Cup 2026/2027, next year will also feature three continental qualifiers, each allocating one spot.

The six-team continental qualification tournaments include Asia (4)/Oceania (2), Europe (5)/Africa (1) and the Americas (6), with one ticket available for the winner of each tournament. The continental quotas (in brackets) include the host country.

The sixth and final team qualified for the LA28 softball competition will be the winner of the Final Qualification Event, which will be played no later than March 2028. The runner-up and third-placed teams in the Asia/Oceania, Europe/Africa and the Americas continental qualification tournaments will take part in the Final Qualification Event.

Details about the four qualification events will be announced at a later stage.

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