Issue date: July 21
Issuing unit: International and Cross-strait Sports Division
Unit contact person: Researcher Hu Hsi-chen
Tel: 02-87711871
E-mail：z008@mail.sa.gov.tw
Media contact person: Section Chief Shih Cheng
Tel: 02-87711868 E-mail：0174@mail.sa.gov.tw
The VI WBSC U12 Baseball World Cup 2021 will take place July 29 to August 7 this year at Tainan Asia-Pacific International Baseball Stadiums and Training Centers (the Centers) . This will be the first world-class international baseball event held in Taiwan for three years since the 2nd WBSC Premier 12 was held in 2019 and the first international baseball event to be held in Taiwan since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020.Our national team will do its best to retain the title.
The Sports Administration said that the WBSC U12 Baseball World Cup was founded by the WBSC in 2011 and is held every two years. In 2015, the WBSC agreed that the event would be held for seven editions in succession in Tainan, until 2027. For this, with the cooperation of the Sports Administration and Tainan City Government, the Centers were established. As a result, Tainan became known as “the city of world little league baseball.” This event was originally planned for 2021, but was postponed to this year because of the pandemic. The 7th edition will be held next year and will be the first time the event has been held in successive years.
As well as our national team , the VI WBSC U12 Baseball World Cup will feature strong teams from Japan, the US, South Korea, Mexico, Venezuela, Italy, Panama, South Africa, the Czech Republic and the Dominican Republic. In the first game on July 29, our national team will face Italy. In the 2019 edition, our national team beat formidable Japan to take its second WBSC U12 Baseball World Cup title. For the event this time, Head Coach Lai Chao-rong has selected the best players from little league team across Taiwan. They have developed the best combat power and understanding over one month of intensive training. The team is well prepared to claim its third WBSC U12 Baseball World Cup title.
To convey the enthusiasm, joy, friendship and competiteveness of the WBSC U12 Baseball World Cup, allow children to learn about baseball through the event and make it a must-do part of their summer vacation itinerary, the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association has invited SNOOPY and POKEMON, characters both popular with children, to be the ambassadors for the WBSC U12 Baseball World Cup in recent years. This year, the event ambassador is blue extraterrestrial Dorky, created by the WBSC. Since June, Dorky has visited scenic sports across Taiwan promoting Champ Taiwan and calling on everyone to pay attention to the WBSC U12 Baseball World Cup that will kick off on July 29 in Tainan and to cheer on the best little league players from around the world to show the warmth of Taiwanese.
The Sports Administration said, with the pandemic still affecting the world, all participating teams will undergo three days of quarantine in an epidemic prevention hotel after arrival and will only be let out to practice and compete on the fourth day after a rapid test is negative. This will be an all-new challenge and experience for the young players from around the world. To allow the event to go ahead smoothly, the Sports Administration coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Police Administration, National Immigration Agency, the Centers for Disease Control of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Tainan City Government to solve problems of entry and epidemic prevention through cross-agency coordination, allowing the largest international sports event held in Taiwan since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 to take place.
This time, fans will be able to buy tickets to watch our national team play. To safeguard the health of players and spectators, the stadium will have clear epidemic prevention flow lines and will separate the personnel in the bubble and domestic fans so that people can watch without worry. 26 games will be broadcast by Videoland Sport and ELTA Sports. Fans around the world are invited to watch the broadcasts and cheer the young players on!