The Villa María del Triunfo Sports Complex will stage the Under-18 Softball World Cup ©Getty Images

A revamped format for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Under-18 Softball World Cup in Peru has been announced, following the withdrawal of seven teams.

All nine teams taking part in the women's event in Peru will play each other in a round-robin group, before the top two face off in the final.

The WBSC's inaugural Under-18 Softball World Cup was originally due to be played in September 2020, but has been delayed several times and is now set for December 6 to 12.

The age limit has been raised to allow those who were eligible to compete in 2020 to play this year.

Hosts Peru, the United States - second in the WBSC rankings and the top-ranked team at the event - Mexico, Puerto Rico, The Netherlands, Chinese Taipei, South Africa, Colombia and the Czech Republic have all confirmed their attendance to the WBSC.

Japan won the gold medal when softball returned to the Olympic programme at Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images
Japan won the gold medal when softball returned to the Olympic programme at Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

Japan, Canada, China, New Zealand, Australia, Italy and the Philippines were all previously due to compete but have withdrawn, likely due to COVID-19 concerns and travel restrictions.

Japan headlined withdrawals from the men's Under-23 Baseball World Cup which concluded in Mexico in recent weeks, while Australia and China even pulled out of the last-chance Olympic baseball qualifier for Tokyo 2020 because of the global health crisis.

The Under-18 Softball World Cup is set to take place at the at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Complex, which staged softball competition at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games.

Peru has been one of countries hit worst by the COVID-19 pandemic, recording in excess of 199,000 deaths from a population of little more than 32 million.