Australia, Guam and New Zealand will battle it out for the right to travel to Mexico during the Oceania Championship, which is due to take place from April 3 to 6 at the McLeod Park diamond in Te Atatu, Auckland.

This will be the first time that representatives from Oceania will have participated in the tournament, which will be the second time it has been staged, following on from the inaugural event also in Mexico in 2012.

South Africa will also be making their debut as they become the first nation from Africa to take part in the tournament in La Paz, which is scheduled for August.

Venezuela are the defending champions after overcoming Cuba in the 2012 final in Chihuahua, and they will be joined by three other qualifiers from the Americas in the form of Brazil, Panama, the United States and hosts Mexico.

Chinese Taipei, who defeated Brazil in the bronze medal match, will represent Asia along with Hong Kong and Japan while the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany and Lithuania will fly the European flag.

The WBSC claim this year's tournament will have the largest geographical spread of participating nations since the 2009 Men's Baseball World Cup.

Should Australia make it out of the Oceania qualifying tournament, then 10 of the top fifteen nations on the current world baseball rankings will be taking part in La Paz.

Australia, Guam and New Zealand will compete in the Oceania Championship to see who will take the final spots at this year's Under-15 Baseball World Cup ©WBSC



"The global spread and strength of the countries participating in this Youth Under-15 Baseball World Cup will create a unique atmosphere and generate great excitement for the athletes, as they come from all around the world to share and shine on the same world stage," said WBSC co-President Riccardo Fraccari.

"The composition of this youth championship highlights the excellent work and determination of the national federations, who are being resourceful and innovative in building and advancing baseball in their countries around the world and in attracting young talented athletes to our sport.

"While the sporting world is beginning to shift its focus to the youth/lifestyle demographic, the WBSC is proud to already be one of the only organisers, if not the only organiser, of under-15 and under-12 World Championships in all of sport, and we are committed to connecting with more and more youth and growing the brand of our youth properties aggressively."

The Under-15 Baseball World Cup will run from August 1 to 10.

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