WBSC Europe
WBSC Europe is the European governing body for baseball and softball. It was created on February 10, 2018, when the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB) and the European Softball Federation (ESF) joined to form WBSC Europe. It is part of the World Baseball Softball Confederation and is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. As of September 2022, WBSC Europe has about 40 member associations for baseball and 39 for softball.
A brief history:
- The CEB began in 1953 with Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy and Spain. The first European Championship was in 1954. The Netherlands joined in 1956, Sweden in 1957, and Great Britain in 1960. By 1994 the group had 33 members and dropped the word Amateur, becoming the Confederation Européenne du Baseball / Confederation of European Baseball (CEB).
- The ESF started in 1976 with six members (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain) and ran the European Softball Championships.
- In 2018, the CEB and ESF merged to create WBSC Europe. The merger was approved on February 14, 2018, by 38 national federations in Paris.
Recent actions:
- In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, WBSC Europe moved competitions away from Russia and excluded Russian and Belarusian teams from all 2022 events.
What WBSC Europe does:
- Oversees baseball and softball in Europe, supports member federations, and organizes European championships and development programs for players, clubs, and national teams.
Contact and more:
- Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
- President: Krunoslav Karin
- Website: www.wbsceurope.org/en
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:34 (CET).