The Copa America, which was to pit the top 12 teams in the World Baseball Rankings against each other with bids to the Central American Games and Pan American Games on the line, has been cancelled.
Scheduled to start on Nov. 13, the 12-team tournament was cancelled on Friday according to a post on Instagram by Nicaragua’s national baseball program. The WBSC Americas announced on Saturday that the event would be rescheduled for a later date.
“The Copa América de Béisbol will be rescheduled to a later date. This is due to the breach of contract by the private promoter who was to hold the tournament from November 13 to 22, 2025, in Panama,” the statement on the WBSC Americas website read. “This breach would prevent the event from taking place, the participation of the athletes, and the provision of accommodation, transportation, and security necessary for holding this type of event. A press conference will be held on November 12 to inform the media and the general public of the details.”
Panamanian sports reporter Aurelio Lopez posted to X that the event was cancelled late Friday night.
Posponer la Copa América de Béisbol a escasos días de que la misma inicie aquí en Panamá ???????? sería el papelazo más grande del año para nuestro país.
Ante tanta incertidumbre y morbo alguien del gobierno (como organizador) debe salir a dar la cara Y DE INMEDIATO.— Aurelio Ortiz (@AurelioOrtiz31) November 8, 2025
“To postpone the Copa America a few days before it starts here in Panama would be the biggest blunder of the year for our country,” Ortiz posted on X. “Faced with so much uncertainty and morbid curiosity, someone from the government (as the organizer) must step up and show their face immediately.”
The reports of the event’s cancellation came just hours after Curacao, Colombia, and Argentina announced their rosters for the event on Friday afternoon.
The tournament has had multiple hiccups, with El Nido de Las Aguilas in Mexicali originally set as a host venue. Mexico was replaced as a host by Venezuela in August, and the entire tournament was moved to Panama three weeks ago. Originally, four venues across Panama were reported to be scheduled to host Copa America games, but then the event was switched to two venues: La Chorrera’s Estadio Mariano Rivera and Panama City’s Estadio Juan D. Arosemena.
According to a report this week in DiarioLibre, a newspaper based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the tournament was moved out of Venezuela when the Dominican Republic’s team refused to travel to the South American country when the Dominican government, which no longer has diplomatic relations with Venezuela, advised the team that they would not be able to provide assistance should the team have difficulties in Venezuela.
And now, the tournament appears to have been cancelled.
World Baseball Network will update this story as more information becomes available.
Photo: Estadio Mariano Rivera was scheduled to host Group B play and the super round and medal round games at the 2025 Copa America de Beisbol.
