WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2026 in Nicaragua; returns as global host after three decades
WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup marks Nicaragua’s return as a global host after three decades
WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup marks Nicaragua’s return as a global host after three decades
The WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2026 presented by RAXUS will start in 50 days. The event will bring a Baseball World Cup back to the country after more than three decades.
In 1994, Nicaragua hosted the last Baseball World Cup reserved for amateur players. They finished group play of the 16-team tournament with a 6-1 record, second in Group A behind undefeated Cuba. After beating Panama in the quarterfinals, Nicaragua ended their run at the final against Cuba. Nicaragua lost the bronze-medal game to Japan.
They would win bronze four year later at the Baseball World Cup in Italy, defeating the hosts in the third-place game.
Baseball reached Nicaragua in the late nineteenth century, when businessman Albert Addlesberg, originally from the United States, started teaching the game in Bluefields on the Caribbean coast. It took less than a decade for baseball to spread to Managua and the Pacific cities.
In 1938, Nicaragua was one of three countries (the others being Cuba and the USA) to reply to the newborn International Baseball Federation when President Leslie Mann asked for interest in participating in the first baseball world competition, the Amateur World Series.
Mann, a former Major League Baseball (MLB) player, had been instrumental in making baseball a demonstration sport at the Berlin 1936 Olympics and in creating a USA National Team to travel to England for the John Moores Trophy, a five game series that the International Federation would later recognise as the first edition of the Amateur World Series.
Nicaragua became one of the baseball powers of the time, finishing second in the 1930 and 1940 Amateur World Series. After a third-place finish in 1947, Nicaragua wanted to host the event.
At the time, all members of the International Baseball Federation were Latin American countries. The United States withdrew from the Amateur World Series and the Federation, now named FIBA ( Federación Internacional de Béisbol Amateur ), in 1942.
The Nicaragua Baseball Federation (FENIBA) President Carlos Chale Pereira (1910-1991) took over as FIBA President and brought the event to Nicaragua in 1948 and 1950. Pereira had been a baseball player, manager and umpire. He would later officiate football, basketball and boxing and became a commentator and writer, establishing the Nicaragua Sports Writers Association ( Asociación de Cronistas Deportivos de Nicaragua ). He would be among the founders of professional baseball in 1956.
In 1972, FENIBA President Carlos Garcia (1931-2014) won the hosting rights for the 20th Amateur World Series. Nicaragua hosted a historic edition, with 16 participating teams. The tournament marked Japan’s first appearance on the international stage. FENIBA unofficially renamed the tournament Campeonato Mundial de Beisbol Aficionado (Amateur Baseball World Championship).
Nicaragua finished third, confirming the podium finish of the 1971 edition.
The Amateur World Series ended on December 5. On December 23, a terrible earthquake killed 5,000 in the capital city, Managua, and left 250,000 homeless. On December 31, Major League Baseball (MLB) legend Roberto Clemente died in an attempt to bring aid to Nicaragua.
Weeks before the tragic Managua earthquake in 1972, Nicaragua hosted a FIBA congress with a record 45 participating federations. During the meetings, a contrast between the Latin American federations and a bloc of European countries backed by the USA became clear.
On September 8, 1973, in Bologna, Italy, Nicaragua was among the 27 federations that met to found a baseball world governing body as an alternative to FIBA. Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala were the only other Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas to participate.
Dutch Fehring (USA) was elected the first President of FEMBA ( Federación Mundial de Béisbol Amateur ). The newborn body organised the first Intercontinental Cup in Italy. Carlos Garcia succeeded Fehring in 1975.
By 1976, FEMBA and FIBA would merge into AINBA ( Asociación Internacional de Béisbol Amateur ).
In 1978, AINBA organised the first Baseball World Championship in Italy, the tournament that would inherit the legacy of the Amateur World Series and evolve into the Baseball World Cup.
Nicaragua honoured Roberto Clemente’s memory by displaying his number 21 on the uniform sleeve.
Nicaragua finished second in the 1973 and 1974 FEMBA World Championships. They would replicate the performance in the 1990 Baseball World Cup in Edmonton, Canada.
Notable Nicaragua World Cup performances in the third millennium include third-place finishes at the U-12 Baseball World Cup 2015 and the U-23 Baseball World Cup 2024.
The WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2026
Nicaragua will host the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2026 from 6 to 15 November at the Soberanía National Stadium in Managua, the brand-new Roberto Clemente Stadium in Masaya, and the Rigoberto López Pérez Stadium in León.
The WBSC launched a U-21 Baseball World Cup in 2014 and changed the age bracket to U-23 starting with the 2016 edition. The 2026 event will be the sixth WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup.
The U-23 Baseball World Cup has the traditional WBSC World Cup format, with the 12 participants split into two groups for the Opening Round.
Group A : Australia, Czechia, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Chinese Taipei
Group B : Cuba, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, South Africa, Venezuela
The group stage will include six games per day and run through Tuesday, 10 November. The top three finishers in each group will advance to the Super Round, and the other six teams will compete for places 7-12 in the Placement Round.
Both the Super Round and the Placement Round include three days of competition, 12, 13 and 14 November.
The first and second-place finishers in the Super Round will compete in the World Championship Final on Sunday, 15 November, at Soberania Stadium. The bronze medal game will precede the final.
Japan are the two-time defending champions, having beaten hosts Chinese Taipei in 2022 and Puerto Rico in the 2024 World Championship Final .
Categories: Americas , Americas Baseball , Americas home page , Baseball , Baseball History , History , Men’s Baseball , Slideshow news , U-23 Baseball World Cup , WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2026 presented by RAXUS
In 1938, Nicaragua was one of three countries to respond to the International Baseball Federation President, Leslie Mann, when he launched the Amateur World Series project, becoming a main character on the international baseball stage. After the 1994 Baseball World Cup, Nicaragua hasn’t hosted a WBSC World Cup.