Development Programmes

In order to achieve this goal, it is important to focus on specific areas that are fundamental for the future of our disciplines. In these past few years, the WBSC has given more responsibility to the Continental Associations empowering them with more autonomy in terms of strategic planning and management of all activities previously controlled by the international governing body through the Development Programmes. The WBSC, through the allocation of annual contributions that are determined by specific parametres, facilitates the work of the CAs giving them support to fulfill their duties. For a better understanding of this procedure, it is necessary to refer to the WBSC–CAs Development Agreement Funding approved in December 2023, which can be found in the manual. This does not, however, prevent the WBSC from implementing specific projects deemed important for the achievement of its strategic goals.

Nevertheless, it is necessary to establish specific areas to be developed that the entire movement must focus on. For this reason, the WBSC outlines, through the release of the Development Programmes, common guidelines for all its members which will serve as a framework for the Continental Associations to potentially endorse and effectively assist their member National Federations for the improvement of our sport worldwide. The first edition of the programmes (2017-2021) was able to assist National Federations and Continental Associations to reach some of their main goals, while providing to the WBSC constructive feedback to upgrade the operational procedures for the 2022-2024 version.

This new edition for the period 2025-2028 has been revised to better meet the needs that have emerged in recent years by eliminating the guidelines outlined for the application procedures since these will be determined by each Continental Association based on their specific peculiarities and priorities. This last version also includes the necessary information regarding Blind Baseball; another sports discipline which the WBSC wants to advance.

As a result, the new 2025-2028 Development Programmes have been bolstered and focus on two key areas:

• Athlete and Sport Development;
• Management and Sport Promotion.

A total of five categories of programmes geared towards athletes, coaches, officials, management & administration, and sport promotion. Each category has several specific programmes for an overall 13 detailed programmes. 

Starting from 2023, the Continental Associations have been empowered by the WBSC with more autonomy in terms of strategic planning and management of all the activities previously controlled by the international governing body through the Development Programmes.
However, the Development Programmes still serve as a framework for the Continental Associations to potentially endorse in order to effectively assist their member National Federations for the betterment of our sport worldwide.

Document Name
Development Programmes 2022-2024

Programmes Overview