The deal means eight female players from Australia will play in the women's softball league for Chicago Bandits.

Australian high-performance coaches will also work with the Bandits’ coaching staff during the season.

Women's softball, along with men's baseball, is due to return to the Olympic schedule at Tokyo 2020.

The Australian softball team is currently ranked fourth in the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) standings.

They, however, only finished 10th at last year's World Championships in Canada.

At Beijing 2008, at the sport's last appearance at the Olympics, Australia won the bronze medal.

"This partnership between Softball Australia and National Pro Fastpitch is a critical step forward for our women’s high-performance programme looking towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games," Softball Australia chief executive Chet Gray said.

"Our programme needs to focus firstly on improving our performance from the 2016 WBSC World Championship and then on qualifying for the Olympic Games.

"This agreement with the Chicago Bandits and NPF will ensure that many of our identified athletes have a chance to participate as a team together in one of the best competitions in the world."

Australian players Vanessa Stokes, Stacey Porter, Chelsea Forkin and Taylah Tsitsikronis played in the NPF last year.