WBSC Europe is the governing body of the sport of baseball and softball in Europe. It was established on February 10, 2018, during a Congress of the Confederation of European Baseball and the European Softball Federation in Val d’Europe, France. The establishment of WBSC Europe followed the historic merger of the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB) and the European Softball Federation (ESF). , WBSC Europe has 40 members for baseball and 39 for softball.
The CEB was founded in 1953 with 5 members, which were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy and Spain.
The CEB was responsible for operating the European Baseball Championship, a championship that has been running since 1954 in Europe. In 2010, there were 112,303 players in the CEB countries.
The ESF was founded in 1976 with 6 members, which were Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain.
The ESF was responsible for operating the European Softball Championships.
History The Confederation of European Baseball was formed in 1953. The European Softball Federation was formed in 1976, which then merged (baseball and softball) and formed into WBSC Europe in 2018.
CEB In April 1953 in Paris, France, 5 countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) gave birth to the European Baseball Federation, originally named in French Féderation Européenne de Baseball (FEB). The first Executive Committee was formed by President Steno Borghese of Italy, Secretary General Roger Panaye of Belgium and Vice President and head of the Technical Commission Luis Barrio of Spain.
In 1954 the first European Championship was played in Belgium and Italy claimed the victory.
The sixth member country, the Netherlands, was accepted at the 1956 Congress in Milan.
In 1957 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sweden became the seventh member, and FEB became an eight-country federation in London in 1960 when Great Britain was accepted.
In 1963 FEB launched their first club competition. The first European champion of the club competition was Picadero Barcelona.
In 1967 the federations of Italy and the Netherlands announced their withdrawal from FEB and founded a new Federation: Fédération Amateur Baseball. In April 1969 the two Federations re-entered FEB.
In 1971 another Italian, Bruno Beneck, succeeded Steno Borghese during the Congress held in Milan. San Marino was accepted as the ninth member.
In 1972 the organization changed its name to European Amateur Baseball Confederation or CEBA, according to the French Confederation Européenne de Baseball Amateur.
In 1974 the first U-18 European Championship for players of age 18 and under was played. The first title went to the Netherlands. The Dutch also claimed the first U-16 title in 1975. In 1979, during the Congress in Trieste, Italy, Denmark was accepted as the 10th member.
There were already 15 member countries when, in 1985, during the Congress in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Guus Van der Heiden of the Netherlands succeeded Bruno Beneck as the president.
When Van der Heiden died, Italian Federation President Aldo Notari was elected as the 4th president of the organization during the 1987 Congress in Barcelona.
During the 1990s the number of member countries increased dramatically up to 33 by 1994, at which time it was decided to drop the word Amateur from the name of the Confederation, known since then as CEB: Confederation Européenne du Baseball in French and Confederation of European Baseball in English. CEB also created the Cup Winners Cup in 1990 and the CEB Cup in 1993.
Martin Miller of Germany, who had been part of the executive since 1995, succeeded Aldo Notari (who was nominated Honorary President) in 2005, during the Congress in Prague. Miller was confirmed as president during the 2009 Congress in San Marino. During Miller's presidency, the number of European Cups for Clubs was reduced to two. Starting in the 2009 season, only a single European Cup for Clubs is played.
Miller resigned from the presidency during the 2012 Congress in Rotterdam. Petr Ditrich of the Czech Republic was the interim president until the 2013 Congress in Bled, Slovenia, that elected Jan Esselman of the Netherlands as the new president.
ESF In 1976 in Rome, Italy, 6 countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain) gave birth to the European Softball Federation (ESF). The first Executive Committee was formed by President Bruno Benek of Italy and Secretary General Theo Vleeshhouwer of Netherlands.
WBSC Europe History On February 14, 2018, in Paris, France, the delegates of 38 National Baseball and Softball Federations approved the merger of the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB) and the European Softball Federation (ESF) at the joint European Baseball Softball Congress in Paris, France.
In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, WBSC Europe relocated competitions that had been scheduled to be held in Russia during 2022, and excluded Russian and Belarusian teams from all its 2022 competitions.
WBSC had a budget of in 2024.
WBSC World Rankings Baseball
Softball
Baseball5
Historical leaders Highest Ranked Europe member in the WBSC Rankings
Men's baseball
Women's baseball
Men's softball
Women's softball
Championships
Baseball Men's Baseball European Championship U-23 Baseball European Championship U-18 Baseball European Championship U-15 Baseball European Championship U-12 Baseball European Championship Women's Women's Baseball European Championship Club Baseball European Champions Cup Baseball European Cup Baseball European Federation Cup Defunct European Champion Cup Final Four European Under-21 Baseball Championship Super 6 Baseball and Softball
Softball
Men's Men's Softball European Championship U-23 Men's Softball European Championship U-18 Men's Softball European Championship U-16 Men's Softball European Championship Men's Slowpitch European Championship Women's Women's Softball European Championship U-22 Women's Softball European Championship U-18 Women's Softball European Championship U-15 Women's Softball European Championship Coed Coed Slowpitch European Championship Club Men’s Softball European Super Cup Women’s Softball European Cup Coed Slowpitch European Cup Defunct ESF Women's Division B Championship U-13 Women's Softball European Championship
Baseball5 Baseball5 European Championship Youth Baseball5 European Championship
Current title holders
Competition Year Host country Champions Title Runners-up Next edition DatesBaseballBaseball European Championship 2025 Netherlands, Belgium, Italy 25th 2027 U-23 Baseball European Championship 2025 Czech Republic 1st 2027 U-18 Baseball European Championship 2026 Italy 16th 2028 U-15 Baseball European Championship 2025 Italy 4th 2027 U-12 Baseball European Championship 2026 France 5th 2027 Women's Baseball European Championship 2025 Czech Republic 1st 2027 Softball Men's Softball European Championship 2025 Czech Republic 13th 2027 U-23 Men's Softball European Championship 2025 Czech Republic 2nd 2027 U-18 Men's Softball European Championship 2026 Czech Republic 11th 2028 U-16 Men's Softball European Championship 2026 Czech Republic 4th 2028 Women's Softball European Championship 2025 Czech Republic 14th 2027 25-31 July U-22 Women's Softball European Championship 2026 Czech Republic, Poland 4th 2028 U-18 Women's Softball European Championship 2025 Czech Republic 4th 2027 U-15 Women's Softball European Championship 2026 Netherlands 3rd 2028 Men's Slowpitch European Championship 2026 Belgium 1st 2028 Coed Slowpitch European Championship 2026 Czech Republic 14th 2028 Baseball5 Baseball5 European Championship 2025 Lithuania 2nd 2027 Youth Baseball5 European Championship 2024 Bulgaria Lithuania 1st Turkey 2026 Club Baseball European Champions Cup 2025 Germany Heidenheim Heideköpfe 1st Bonn Capitals 2026 Baseball European Cup 2025 France Tenerife Marlins 3rd Olimpija Karlovac 2026 1-6 June Baseball European Federation Cup 2023 Slovakia Dornbirn Indians 2nd Spartans Deurne 2026 10-13 June Men’s Softball European Super Cup 2025 Czech Republic Hørsholm Hurricanes Beavers Chomutov 2026 24-29 August Women’s Softball European Cup 2025 Netherlands Les Comanches Zürich Barracudas 2026 Coed Slowpitch European Cup 2025 Germany UCE Travellers Pioneers 2027 Baseball5 European Cup 2025 Bulgaria BK Vilnius 1st EGO SK 2026 13-15 August
Medals
National Events Men's European Baseball Championship (1954–2025) - 38 Editions Women's European Baseball Championship (2019–2025) - 3 Editions Men's Softball European Championship (1993–2023) - 16 Editions Women's Softball European Championship (1979–2022) - 23 Editions European Under-23 Baseball Championship (2017–2021) - 3 Editions European Under-21 Baseball Championship (2006–2016) - 6 Editions European Under-18 Baseball Championship (1974–2022) - 32 Editions European Under-15 Baseball Championship (1975–2023) - 31 Editions European Under-12 Baseball Championship (1992–2023) - 30 Editions Baseball5 European Championship (2020) - 1 Editions ESF Junior Boys Championship (U-18) (1998–2015) - 9 Editions ESF Junior Girls Championship (U-18) (1991–2023) - 17 Editions ESF Co-Ed Slowpitch European Championships (1998–2022) - 13 Editions U-22 Women's Softball European Championship (2008–2020) - 7 Editions U-15 Women's Softball European Championship (2002–2022) - 11 Editions U-13 Women's Softball European Championship (2002–2010) - 5 Editions U-23 Men's Softball European Championship (2022) - 1 Editions U-16 Men's Softball European Championship (2017–2021) - 2 Editions U17 Baseball5 European Championship (2022) - 1 Editions Men's Slowpitch European Championship (2018–2022) - 2 Editions Super 6 Baseball and Softball (2018) - 1 Editions + 1 Editions
3 Bronze awarded in 1989 U-18 European Baseball Championship. Consist of .
Club Events Source:
European Champions Cup (1963–2023) - 59 Editions European Confederation Cup (1993–2023) - 23 Editions European Federation Cup (2016–2023) - 7 Editions European Champion Cup Final Four (2008–2012) - 5 Editions ESF men's EC club championships (1990–2022) - 32 Editions ESF men's CWC club championships (2002–2011) - 10 Editions ESF Co-Ed Slowpitch European Super Cup (2007–2021) - 10 Editions Men’s Softball European Super Cup (-) - Editions - Not Counted in this Table Women’s Softball European Cup (-) - Editions - Not Counted in this Table ESF women's EC club championships (-) - Editions - Not Counted in this Table ESF women's CWC club championships (-) - Editions - Not Counted in this Table Coed Slowpitch European Cup (-) - Editions - Not Counted in this Table
2 Bronze awarded in 2013, 2014 and 2015 European Champions Cup. 2023 Source:
Coed Slowpitch European Super Cup 2023 07/08/2023 12/08/2023
August European Softball Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy - Sport Division 2023 European Softball Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy - Sport Division 2023 16/08/2023 19/08/2023
August European Softball Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy - Future Division 2023 European Softball Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy - Future Division 2023 16/08/2023 19/08/2023
August Women’s Softball European Premier Cup 2023 Women’s Softball European Premier Cup 2023 21/08/2023 26/08/2023
August Women’s Softball European Cup Winners Cup “A” 2023 Women’s Softball European Cup Winners Cup “A” 2023 21/08/2023 26/08/2023
August Women’s Softball European Cup Winners Cup “B” 2023 Women’s Softball European Cup Winners Cup “B” 2023 21/08/2023 26/08/2023
August Women’s Softball European Cup 2023 Women’s Softball European Cup 2023 23/08/2023 26/08/2023
August Men’s Softball European Super Cup 2023 Men’s Softball European Super Cup 2023 28/08/2023 02/09/2023
October Men's European Softball Masters Cup 2023 Men's European Softball Masters Cup 2023 25/10/2023 28/10/2023
October Women's European Softball Masters 2023 Women's European Softball Masters 2023
Members Baseball