New competition format announced for European Women’s Softball Championship

WBSC Europe has announced the official competition format of the European Women's Softball Championship, a continental qualifier for the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup. The tournament will be played in Sant Boi, Spain, from 24-30 July. 

The participating teams have been split into four groups, with two of the top-eight National Teams from the 2021 Women's European Championship allocated in each group. These two teams will play a single game to define their positions in the next group stage, while the rest of the squads will start the tournament with a single round robin, with the winner also advancing to the six-team quarter-final groups.

The top three finishers in the quarter-final groups will move into the semi-final group, with the best two nations in the final standings advancing to the final. 

WBSC Europe Softball Vice President Gabriel Waage said: "The decision of the Competition Commission follows the request by National Federations to have more balanced games, especially in the first phases of the tournament".

A total of 22 teams will play the event, with three spots for the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup up for grabs.