The WBSC Asia, formerly known as, Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) is the governing body of the sport of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. The federation is governed by the

World Baseball Softball Confederation World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC; french: Confédération internationale de baseball et softball) is the world governing body for the sports of baseball, softball, and Baseball5. It was established in 2013 by the merger of the Inter ...

History

The birth of Baseball Federation of Asia goes back to 1954 when the 2nd

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

was held in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The four countries of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and the Philippines organized a committee aiming at establishing Baseball Federation of Asia, and 7 May of the same year witnessed the commencement of BFA. American expatriate Charles Chick Parsons of the Philippines was elected as the first president of Baseball Federation of Asia. The BFA became inactive for eight years following the 1975 Asian Baseball Championship. At the sidelines of the FEMBA World Baseball Championship in Tokyo in 1980, the executives of BFA discussed about resuming the activity of the federation. The Asian Baseball Championship was later resumed in 1983 which was held in Seoul. The membership of the federation grew as more Asian nations were admitted to the BFA. The total number of BFA members at the present time is 24, and 1 non-member observer State (Vietnam).

Members

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, commonly known as

, due to complicated relations with

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, is recognized by the name

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

by most of the international organizations. For more information, please see

Cross-Strait relations Cross-Strait relations (sometimes called Mainland–Taiwan relations, or Taiwan-China relations) are the relations between China (officially the People's Republic of China) and Taiwan (officially the Republic of China). The relationship ...

.
² Cambodia and Kazakhstan are members of the BFA but are not currently members of the World Baseball Softball Confederation, according to the WBSC's website.
³ Palestine is a member of the WBSC but not currently a member of the Baseball Federation of Asia, according to the BFA's website.

WBSC World Rankings

Overview

Competitions

Current title holders

References

External links

BFA Baseball Federation of Asia

WBSC Asia
Softball governing bodies Sports organizations established in 1954

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