The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has awarded the hosting rights of one of the groups and the Finals of the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup to Dallas, USA with the group - one of three which make up the Group Stage - to be played from 29 August to 2 September 2024, while the Finals will take place in 2025.
Both events will be hosted at The Village Dallas, a mixed-use development that includes the competition venue, warm-up areas and premium amenities like sports facilities, retail, hotel, restaurants and apartments.
This will be the first time Dallas hosts a WBSC Softball World Cup of any category. USA has hosted the U-18 Women's Softball World Cup (previously named Junior Women’s Softball World Championship and U-19 Women’s Softball World Cup) six times in the past, including Fargo (North Dakota) 1985, Oklahoma City (Oklahoma) 1987, Normal (Illinois) 1995, Oklahoma City 2015, Clearwater (Florida) 2017 and Irvine (California) 2019.
The last edition of the WSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup was played in Lima, Peru, in December 2021 with USA claiming their fourth junior women’s softball world title in a row, and eighth overall, following a dramatic 1-0 win against Chinese Taipei in the final.
The tournament, with a 42-year and 14-edition history, has shifted into a four-year cycle and changed its competition format starting from 2024. Under the Two Stage Format, the Group Stage will be played entirely in 2024, in three different locations and different dates, with the Finals scheduled for 2025. In addition to Dallas, the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, will host one of the three groups from 23 to 27 July. The third group host will be announced at a later stage.
An expanded total of 18 nations will participate in the World Cup, split into three groups of six national teams. The top two teams from each group, plus two wild cards, will advance to the Finals 2025.
By hosting a group of the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup Group Stage, world No. 1 USA becomes the 10th qualified nation for the tournament.
WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup Qualified Teams
Africa (2): TBD
Americas (5): TBD
Asia (3): No. 2 Japan, No. 4 Chinese Taipei and No. 15 China
Europe (3): World No. 6 Italy, No. 9 Czechia and No. 21 Ireland
Oceania (2): No. 32 New Zealand and No. 10 Australia
Wild Card/Host (3): No. 1 USA, No. 23 Brazil, TBD
Named the No.1 Best Sports Business City by Sports Business Journal, Dallas is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. and the third-largest in Texas with a population of more than 1.2 million. The Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex population is 7.69 million. The city is home to eight professional sports teams in all major US leagues: Texas Rangers (MLB), Dallas Cowboys (NFL), Dallas Mavericks (NBA), Dallas Stars (NHL), FC Dallas (MLS), Jackals Dallas Rugby (MLR), Dallas Wings (WNBA) and Arlington Renegades (XFL).
The WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup becomes the second WBSC event to be hosted by USA Softball in 2024. One of the groups which make up the Group Stage of the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup will be played in Oklahoma City from 17 to 21 September next year.
