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International Baseball Federation

The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is the former worldwide governing body of baseball. It has since been superseded by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), and continues to exist as the WBSC's baseball division. Between 1944 and 1975, it was known by its Spanish-language name, as the Federación Internacional de Béisbol Amateur, or FIBA.

For the international governing body that oversees basketball, see FIBA.

Abbreviation

IBAF

1938 (1938)

Worldwide

124 National Federations

Prior to the establishment of the WBSC, the IBAF was the sole entity recognized by the International Olympic Committee as overseeing the sport, and as the designated organizer and promoter of major international tournaments like the Baseball World Cup (originally the Amateur World Series) and the Intercontinental Cup. It also organized the inaugural World Baseball Classic (WBC), in cooperation with Major League Baseball, in 2006.


One of its principal responsibilities as the WBSC's umbrella is to organize, standardize and sanction international competitions, using the WBSC name, among baseball's 124 national governing bodies through its various tournaments to determine a world champion and calculate world rankings for both men's and women's baseball. Its offices are housed within the WBSC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland—the Olympic Capital.

WBSC Premier 12

World Baseball Classic

IBAF Women's Baseball World Cup

(formerly 21U)

IBAF 23U Baseball World Cup

IBAF 18U Baseball World Cup

(formerly 16U)

IBAF 15U Baseball World Cup

IBAF 12U Baseball World Cup

The International Baseball Federation organized the following world championship tournaments before WBSC merger:


The first-ever 12U Baseball World Championship was played in Taipei from July 8 to 17, 2011. Taiwan won the first title.


In addition, the IBAF is the sanctioning body for the World Baseball Classic, which is hosted by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association and held every four years in the year after the Summer Olympics. The IBAF abandoned its former world championship, the Baseball World Cup, after the 2011 edition in favor of an expanded World Baseball Classic. It was originally intended to be the sanctioning body for the Premier 12, a new men's international tournament – featuring the twelve best-ranked national teams – that began in 2015; that tournament instead has been sanctioned by the WBSC. This event is played in the year preceding the Summer Olympics.


The IBAF discontinued the Intercontinental Cup, which was an invitational event and last held in 2010.

IBAF Africa: (ABSA) - 24 member countries

African Baseball & Softball Association

IBAF Oceania: (BCO) - 14 member countries

Baseball Confederation of Oceania

IBAF Asia: (BFA) - 24 member countries

Baseball Federation of Asia

IBAF Europe: (French: Confédération Européenne de Baseball) (CEB) - 38 member countries

Confederation of European Baseball

IBAF Americas: (Spanish: Confederación Panamericana de Béisbol) (COPABE) - 27 member countries

Pan American Baseball Confederation

The IBAF comprises five continental confederations that currently represent a total of 127 national member federations.

Leslie Mann: 1938

United States

Jaime Mariné: 1939 to 1943

Cuba

Jorge Reyes: 1944 to 1945

Mexico

Pablo Morales: 1946 to 1947

Venezuela

Chale Pereira: 1948 to 1950

Nicaragua

Pablo Morales: 1951 to 1952

Venezuela

Carlos Manuel Zecca: 1953 to 1968

Costa Rica

FIBA: Juan Isa: 1969 to 1975 (FIBA from 1973 to 1975)

Netherlands Antilles

FEMBA: William Fehring: 1973 to 1974

United States

FEMBA: Carlos J. García: 1975

Nicaragua

Manuel González Guerra: 1976 to 1979

Cuba

Robert E. Smith: 1981 to 1993

United States

Aldo Notari: 1993 to 2006 (*)

Italy

Tom Peng: 2006 to 2007

Chinese Taipei

Harvey Schiller: 2007 to 2009

United States

Riccardo Fraccari: 2009 to present

Italy

(*) Aldo Notari died during the period as the president, thus the first vice president, Tom Peng of Taiwan, served as acting president from July 2006 to 2007.[12][13][14]

Senior Athlete of the Year

[15]

Junior Athlete of the Year

[15]

Coach of the Year

[15]

Umpire of the Year

[15]

Member Federation Executive of the Year

[15]

See also: Baseball awards of the International Baseball Fedederation (IBAF)

World Baseball Softball Confederation

website

International Baseball Federation