The Playoff format for Super Saturday of the Women’s Softball World Cup (Group A) which will be played in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin between July 11 – July 15, 2023 has been confirmed.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) confirmed the competition format of the Two-Stage Softball World Cups, the new tournament system unveiled two years ago. The system will be used for the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup, the WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup and the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup.

The first event to be held under this new system is the XVII WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup this year, which will play the Group Stage in Europe from 11 to 26 July in Fingal-Dublin, Ireland (Group A); Valencia, Spain (Group B); and Castions di Strada and Buttrio, Italy (Group C). The finals will be staged in Italy in the summer of 2024.

Under the new two-stage format, the World Cups are played over two consecutive years, with the Group Stage the first year with the Finals following the year after.

Two-Stage Softball World Cups: Group Stage Competition Format

• 18 teams feature in the Group Stage spread across three groups
• The top two teams from each group in the Group Stage advance to the Finals
• Each group in the Group Stage will start with a single round robin.
• The best four teams from the round robin will advance to play-offs where the top two sides play each other with a ticket to the Finals at stake.
• The loser of the first play-off game will then play against the third v fourth winner for the second spot in the Finals

About – The Women’s Softball World Cup is being hosted at a 2,500 seater temporary stadium in Balbriggan Co. Dublin between July 11 – July 15, 2023. The tournament is being jointly hosted by Softball Ireland (Fastpitch) and Fingal County Council – for all media/sponsoship queries please email: softballwcireland@gmail.com

The historic Softball World Cup, to be played in Ireland, Spain and Italy this summer, will be the first to be played under the new Two-Stage format.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) have released the official promotional video for the XVII WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup, to be played in Ireland, Spain and Italy in July.

The video, named “The World Will Be In Europe”, features some of the iconic moments and biggest highlights from the 2018 Women’s Softball World Cup, the 2019 Olympic Qualifiers and The World Games 2022. The title of the video headlines the return of the biggest women’s softball international event to European soil after nine years. It will be the second Women’s Softball World Cup to be played on the Old Continent.

Under the new Two-Stage format, an expanded number of 18 teams representing the five Olympic continents will play across three groups of six teams. The top two teams from each group of the Group Stage, plus two wild cards, will advance to the eight-team World Cup Finals, to be hosted in Italy in 2024. 

The tournament will start with Group A in Dublin, Ireland, from 11-15 July; followed by Group B in Valencia, Spain, from 18-22 July; and Group C in Castions di Strada & Buttrio, Italy, from 22-26 July. The groups are as follows:

• Group A: No. 1 USA, No. 9 Australia, No. 16 Great Britain, No. 17 Ireland (host), Botswana and Asia 3. 
• Group B: No. 5 Puerto Rico, No. 10 Netherlands, No. 11 Spain (host), No. 27 Cuba, Africa 1 and Asia 2. 
• Group C: No. 4 Canada, No. 8 Italy (host), No. 22 Venezuela, No. 28 New Zealand, Asia 1 and a wild card.

The XVII WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup will open next year with a new Two-Stage format. Group A will compete in Dublin, Ireland from 11-15 July; followed by Group B in Valencia, Spain, from 18-22 July; and Group C in Castions di Strada & Buttrio, Italy, from 22-26 July.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) have unveiled the groups and dates for the XVII WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Group Stage, to be played from 11-26 July, 2023 in Ireland, Italy and Spain. The tournament will be the first event to be played under the new Two-Stage format. 

“The XVII Women’s Softball World Cup represents the return of the premier international women’s softball event to European soil, a demonstration of the development of softball on the continent with three countries passionate about sport – Ireland, Italy and Spain – hosting this major softball event for the first time in their history,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “This breakthrough event will be a milestone for our organisation, with the debut of the Two-Stage tournaments, providing more opportunities for teams to participate and for countries to host events like these.”

To open the XVII Women’s Softball World Cup, an expanded number of 18 teams representing the five Olympic continents have been drawn into three groups of six teams, each of them to be played in a different location. 

The tournament will start with Group A in Dublin, Ireland, from 11-15 July; followed by Group B in Valencia, Spain, from 18-22 July; and Group C in Castions di Strada & Buttrio, Italy, from 22-26 July. The groups are as follows:

• Group A: Ireland (host), Australia, Great Britain, USA, Africa 2 and Asia 3. 
• Group B: Spain (host), Cuba, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Africa 1 and Asia 2. 
• Group C: Italy (host), Canada, New Zealand, Venezuela, Asia 1 and a wild card.

The 2022 / 2023 Women’s National Fastptich League Season kicks off with a double header Sunday featuring inter-club derby on September 18, 2022.

This will be the first season that the league has moved to a single sex format. The freshman league will start the season with 3 teams, but it is hoped that the St. Catherines ‘Rocks franchise will be able to add an extra league team during the season. Week 1 League Schedule is available here.

The teams consist of both experienced players, players new to fastpitch and younger players starting their career pathway in the sport. Full details on the league schedule are available here:

Games will be played at St. Catherines Park (the venue under development for the World Cup in 2023) the new home of Fastpitch in Ireland and the location of the soon to be developed Women’s Fastpitch Centre of Excellence.

Newly renamed, St. Catherines ‘Rocks Softball Club which is a franchise in the Fastpitch Ireland League is delighted to confirm its rosters for the 2022 Season. The Club will turn out 2 teams in the Fastpitch Ireland league starting on September 18, 2022 which kicks off with an inter-team derby at 12 Noon in St. Catherines Park. The Rosters for the opening games of the season are listed below. As ever, the club is open to new players wishing to join, any players wishing to join the should email director@fastpitchsoftball.ie

Week 1 Schedule – September 18, 2022:
12 Noon Green ‘Rocks v Blue ‘Rocks
1:10pm Green ‘Rocks v Cork/Galway
2.20pm Blue ‘Rocks v Cork/Galway

After 1,045 days COVID stand down, the Irish Women’s Softball Teams take the international field once more.

A new look Irish Under 22 team will participate in a very competitive tournament with most participating teams including players on their roster who will be on roster for the Women’s European Championships in Barcelona later this month.

Ireland start the tournament as #3 seeds overall and the number one seed in their pool. Ireland are joined by European Softball powerhouses Austria, Belgium and Spain in the group and will need to be at their best to finish in the top 2 and progress to the super round later in the week.

Ireland will field an exciting roster with 9 of the roster making their debut for Ireland in the coming days. (Full roster – http://fastpitchsoftball.ie/2022-u22-wnt/)

Preparations for World Cup 2023 start this week. We have an exciting group of young players with a lot of talent and potential who are ready to get going and very proud to pull on the Green Jersey.

What makes coaching so enjoyable at this age group is that nobody, including the players themselves, know what their limits are and we are very excited as a group to what we can achieve over the next 6 days together.

Melanie Cunningham, Head Coach & Director of Fastpitch

Ireland start the tournament on June 27 against Austria, followed by Belgium and Spain on June 28.

European Softball will be providing both Play by Play and streaming for the tournament, details below. The games can also be followed via Game Changer.

Official Play by Play – Click Here

Live Stream – Click Here

Game Changer – Click Here

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Executive Committee have today awarded the co-hosting rights of the flagship WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup to Ireland, Italy and Spain. Ireland together with Italy and Spain will host a group of the World Cup in 2023, with Italy hosting the Finals in 2024.

Other than the Olympic games, the Women’s Softball World Cup is the most prestigious event in World Softball and will be broadcast globally in 2023. Working closely with its bid partners, the World Cup Organising Committee, Fastpitch Ireland and Fingal presented a successful bid to co-host the tournament in Ireland.

The World Cup Group will be held in Fingal on a purpose built venue for the tournament.

“We’re delighted to bring the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup back to Europe, with Ireland, Italy and Spain co-hosting the biggest international softball event in the globe.” “The Women’s Softball World Cup represents the first WBSC World Cup to be played under the innovative Two-Stage format, that gives more flexibility and opportunities for cities, regions and countries to host and participate in WBSC events.”

WBSC President Fraccari

The hosting of the tournament will be the biggest softball event ever hosted in Ireland, and it is envisoned that it will be the catalyst that puts all disciplines of our sport in the eyes of the nation and begins the re-growth of the sport.

“The awarding of the World Cup to Ireland is a testament to the standing of Team Ireland and the Irish Federation in the WBSC. A lot of hard work has been put into developing the bid with Fingal and we are very gateful for Fingals support and vision to join us in the bid.” “This tournament presents a once in a life time opportunity for our Players to play in a World Cup on their home field and for us to create a strong positive legacy for the game in Ireland, promote all disciplines of the game in Ireland and supercharge the growth of women’s and youth softball.”

Melanie Cunningham, Director of Fastpitch Ireland

The exact dates of the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Group Stage and Finals are still to be confirmed and will be announced shortly.

For further media information – please contact Colum Lavery – +353 86 770 8576

Enrolment for the 2022 National Fastpitch League is now open.  This year, the expanded league will feature three multi-game days of play for Women’s and Men’s Divisions before moving back indoors in the NSC during the winter months.

The League will be preceded by an open day on August 21, 2022 to allow returning players reacquaint themselves with Fastpitch and provide new players with an introduction to the game.

This year, the Divisions will play league games on Sundays and will offer additional open scrimmage games for any players from inside or outside the league who wish to take part on other dates.

An exciting new venue for the league has been identitified and the location will be shared in the near future. The autumn league dates are as follows:

21 August – Open Day
28 August – League Day 1
September 18 – League Day 2
October 9 – League Day 3

How to enrol

Players can enrol for the Fastpitch League here: https://forms.office.com/r/EV38XkhfmG. 

No fastpitch softball experience is necessary, and players will be assigned to teams.

Contacts

The National Fastpitch League can be contacted on director@fastpitchsoftball.ie. 

Fastpitch Ireland and Decker Sports USA (“Decker”) are proud to announce a new partnership agreement under which Decker will provide fully customised uniforms, apparel, gear and training products to all of Fastpitch Ireland national and representative teams. The partnership marks Decker’s first agreement with an international team and signifies the beginning of Decker’s global expansion.

As part of the agreement, all Fastpitch Ireland players, coaches and fans will also be provided exclusive access to Decker’s ProShop, or fanwear store, as well as the Direct to Player (“D2P”) program, which offers head-to-toe customised uniforms and apparel delivered directly to player’s doors, eliminating the need for any face-to-face interaction, and streamlining the overall uniform and apparel ordering process.

Fastpitch Ireland is excited to announce Decker Sports as our Official Kit Partner from the 2022 season onwards. Decker has a great reputation in the softball world. We look forward to being the first team to wear Decker Sports clothing and equipment in international competition. We are delighted to feature Decker Products as we travel around the world moving forward. Fastpitch Ireland and Decker will be an amazing partnership ensuring our players have the highest-level products as they represent our country!

Melanie Cunningham, Fastptich Ireland Director of Fastpitch & National Teams Head Coach

Decker is honored to partner with the staff and players of Fastpitch Ireland. We look forward to providing a one-of-a-kind experience to the Fastpitch Ireland program and creating a new standard for the international softball industry – customized uniforms and apparel inspired by the female athlete and developed exclusively with the female athlete in mind.

We firmly believe this partnership will help further develop Fastpitch Ireland’s dream of growing the sport and encouraging young female adults to find a sport for life in the game of softball and feel proud to wear the green of Ireland.

Joshua Pollack, VP of Sales at Decker Sports USA

About Decker Sports USA:

Decker Sports USA, based in Omaha, NE, was founded in 1994 from a game of catch between three brothers in their parent’s backyard using a small, toy baseball.  The brothers realized it was much more difficult to catch, throw and hit a small ball as compared to a regular sized baseball.  With this concept of training, Decker Sports USA was born.  After successfully selling to Major League Baseball as well as high schools and colleges across the globe, Decker set out to create a one-of-a-kind experience for all the diamond sports athletes through customization, convenience, and value in its pursuit of inspiring the human in the athlete.

To coincide with St. Patricks Day and our announcement of Decker Sports as our Official Kit Partner, Fastpitch Ireland have today announced the “Become The Shamrock” fundraising campaign.

“Become The Shamrock” provides 100 individuals/families and businesses the opportunity your name printed tone on tone on the body of a limited edition Ireland jersey and within the shamrock on the front of the jersey which will be worn by the team during the opening games of the Women’s European Championships and Under-22 European Championships in 2022. This unique opportunity is limited to 100 names only for a Donation of US$250 per name.

The Irish Senior and Under-22 Women’s Fastpitch Softball Teams will be representing Ireland at the Women’s European Championships in Spain in July 2022 and the Under 22 European Championships in Czech Republic in June 2022. The Irish Women’s teams are 100% self-funded and proceeds from this unique and limited opportunity to have your name on an Irish National Team jersey to be worn in competitive internationals will be used to offset players costs.

The team will proudly wear your name and embrace your support as we push for a gold medal. By choosing to “Become The Shamrock”, you will:
The team will proudly wear your name and embrace your support as we push for a gold medal. By choosing to “Become The Shamrock”, you will:
– Have your name printed tone on tone on the the limited edition jersey
– Have your name printed as part of the Shamrock on front of the the limited edition jersey
– Receive a limited edition replica jersey with your name as part of the Shamrock (only 100 will be made)
– Receive a certificate of authenticity
– Receive a photo of the team wearing the jersey
– Sponsorship donations made in the USA are tax deductible as Fastpitch Ireland is a registered US NGO (501c3).

To reserve your name on the Team Ireland jersey, please click the link below and you will be brought to the registration form: