The tournament, due to take place from November 7 to 16, will feature five of the top 10 ranked baseball nations in the world and eight nations within the top 15.

Forty-three matches are scheduled to take place across two venues, including Douliu Baseball and the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium.

Teams have been divided into two groups with Group A headed by the world's number four side Chinese Taipei and which also includes South Korea, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand and Czech Republic.

World number two side Japan headline Group B where they are joined by The Netherlands, Venezuela, Australia and Nicaragua.

Teams will play each other in a round-robin format before the top three nations from each group qualify for the round-robin Super Group.

The Super Round Robin is a continuation of the opening round-robin, as head-to-head matches and win/loss records against Super Group members carry over from the group stages.

The top two sides in the Super Group will contest the gold medal match while the third and fourth-place teams will play for bronze.

Each nation is allowed to have six players over the age of 21 but under the age of 23 with only three being allowed to play at any one time.

Mexico and Japan will be two of the teams aiming for glory at the Under-21 Baseball World Cup in Taichung ©WBSC




The tournament will have added significance as final crucial ranking points will be available to teams to go towards qualification for the Premier 12 tournament.

The inaugural Premier 12 competition will feature the top 12 ranked nations taking part in a pro-player tournament in Taiwan in November 2015, which the WBSC says will see "millions of dollars" awarded in prize money.

The WBSC also says it will shortly announce details of broadcast deals for the Under-21 Baseball World Cup covering television, online and mobile distribution, they claimed.

"The broadcast and television coverage of international baseball and softball competitions and events both drives and builds on the growing appeal of baseball and softball to young people in schools and in communities, among TV audiences, and in the growing lust of sponsors," said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari.

Following this year's inaugural tournament, the next edition of the Under-21 Baseball World Cup is due to take place in Sinaloa, Mexico, in 2016.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
February 2014: Canada, Japan and Chinese Taipei awarded hosting rights for three youth Baseball World Cups