Naha City in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, will host the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in 2025, while Pingtan, China, has been awarded the 2027 tournament. The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) announced that Naha City will welcome the prestigious event in early September, coinciding with initiatives promoting world peace through sports, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
RAXUS has been named the presenting sponsor for the 2025 tournament, which will be co-hosted by the Baseball Federation of Japan (BFJ) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Enterprise, with support from the High School Baseball Federation. The Okinawa Cellular Stadium NAHA, with a capacity of 15,000, will serve as a key venue for the event.
In a notable development, Pingtan County recently secured the rights to host the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in 2027, following its successful hosting of the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup Group B in August 2024. This will mark China’s second Baseball World Cup, having previously hosted the successful WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup last month. Pingtan comprises 126 islands and 648 reefs, covering a land area of 372 square kilometers and a sea area of 6,064 square kilometers.
The Chinese Baseball Association (CBA) and the Pingtan Government will oversee the 2027 tournament in October, with the Tourism Sports Bureau of Pingtan managing the logistics. Key venues will include the Pingtan International Baseball Stadium and the Pingtan Baseball Stadium, both featuring artificial turf.
The WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup is renowned as one of the most prestigious international baseball tournaments. Previous winners include Cuba (11 titles), the USA (10), Korea (5), Chinese Taipei (3), Canada (1), and Japan, which won its first title in the last edition in 2023.
