Sport News Blog

Cuba agreed Monday to relinquish hosting duties for baseball’s 2009 World Cup in an effort to bolster the sport’s bid to return to the Olympics.

The tournament is being shifted to seven European nations, the Italian baseball federation told the Associated Press.

Italy will host the championship final, with games also being played in six other European nations. An announcement was to be made in Rome on Tuesday, the federation said.

Italian baseball federation president Riccardo Fraccari came up with the idea of shifting the tournament to Europe because that is where the bulk of International Olympic Committee members live, the federation said.

The IOC eliminated baseball and softball from the 2012 London Olympics during a vote in 2005. The committee will review baseball’s success during the Beijing Games in August and the next World Baseball Classic in March 2009.

The World Cup will be held in September 2009, and the IOC will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, the following month to determine whether baseball and softball will be readmitted to the Olympic program for the 2016 Games.

Twenty teams will participate in the tourney. The United States won last November’s World Cup, which was played in Taiwan.

Only players not on major league 25-man rosters were eligible.

With files from the Associated PressPost a commentPeople have commented on this storyRecommend this storyPeople have recommended this storyStory Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKStory comments (0)Sort:Most recent | First to last | Most recommended

0Post your comment

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are pre-moderated/reviewed and published according to our submission guidelines.

Comment:Characters allowed: 2500PostSubmission policy