The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) has chosen Taichung to replace Venezuela as host of the 13th World Youth Baseball Championship, the Taichung City Government announced yesterday.
“The IBAF announced the decision to Taichung Mayor Jason Hu when Hu called the IBAF this weekend,” Deputy Taichung Mayor Hsiao Chia-chi told reporters.
The IBAF’s Executive Committee made the decision at a meeting on Saturday in recognition of Taichung’s contribution to the promotion of baseball, Hsiao said.
Hu called the IBAF’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, to urge it to attempt to keep baseball as one of the events at the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee plans to drop baseball from the Games in 2012.
The 13th World Youth Baseball Championship was scheduled to have been held in Venezuela in July or August last year, featuring squads of 13-year-olds to 16-year-olds from 12 countries.
The IBAF canceled the tournament after Taiwan protested at Venezuela denying Taiwanese players entry visas, under orders from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Taichung, which has hosted several international baseball tournaments, applied to the IBAF to replace Venezuela and host the championship.
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