The World Baseball Softball Confederation had its Baseball5 team from Jordan face France in Paris earlier this week. Baseball5 is a five-on-five, five-inning version of baseball organized by the WBSC. Their team of refugees from the Azraq Camp in Jordan got to play against the French national team during the week of the Olympic Games.
The WBSC and the International Olympic Committee worked together to support the project, according to the wbsc.org official website. Other organizations involved were the Olympic Refuge Foundation, the French Federation of Baseball and Softball, and the French National Olympic Committee. The refugee team played in two exhibition matches on Aug. 10 and 11 against the national team. WBSC president Riccardo Fraccari said, “…Baseball5 is not only a sport but a way of inclusion.”
Baseball5 was based on street baseball and, with the innovation of new rules, has become a legitimate, growing sport internationally. The game is played at a fast pace, is five-on-five, and has a smaller field for the teams to play on. There is no pitcher or bat, and every batter gets the ball in play.
The Baseball5 team taken to France are all refugees from the United Nations camp in Azraq, Jordan. As of 2019, the camp holds over 35,000 people. Ten young athletes from the camp comprised the team that was taken to showcase the game in France during the Olympic Games.
The innovation and rise of Baseball5, paired with the inspiring story of the refugees competing with one of the largest countries in the world during the international spectacle of the Olympics, is truly a great step for Baseball5 and international unity.
Photo Credit: Image courtesy of Baseball5 on X
