New tournament format, official schedule unveiled for WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup 2025
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) announced today the new tournament format and official schedule for the WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup, set to be played in Nayarit, Mexico, from 24 to 27 September.
An expanded number of 16 teams will participate in the event opening the tournament with a four-group, 24-game Group Stage. All teams will advance to the single-elimination playoffs, starting on 25 September at 3:00 pm (all times local time) with a Round of 16. The semifinals are scheduled on 26 September at 6:30 pm and 8:00 pm; with the Bronze Medal Game and World Championship Final the next day, at 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm respectively.
The four groups to open the tournament are:
- Group A: No. 5 Tunisia, No. 6 Mexico (host), No. 8 Lithuania, No. 10 China
- Group B: No. 1 Cuba, No. 9 Korea, No. 11 Kenya, No. 13 Spain
- Group C: No. 2 Japan, No. 7 Venezuela, No. 14 Türkiye, Fiji
- Group D: No. 3 France, No. 4 Chinese Taipei, No. 16 Ghana, No. 56 Puerto Rico
World No. 3 France and No. 16 Ghana will face each other in Game 1 of the competition, on 24 September at 8:30 am. A total of 16 games will be played across the first competition day, with every team playing a doubleheader. You can see the full schedule here.
This tournament will be the second edition of the WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup after Ankara, Türkiye hosted the inaugural edition in 2023. World No. 1 Cuba - who have won all the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup tournaments to date including the opening tournament held in 2022 in Mexico City and the second edition in 2024 in Hong Kong - are the defending World Champions.
