WBSC/KONAMI Men's Softball World Ranking: Australia end the year as No. 1 for first time in history
For the first time ever Australia have ended the year as the No. 1 nation in the WBSC/KOMAMI Men's Softball World Ranking. The Aussies went from No. 4 in January to No. 1 in December with a 1,103-point year.
The only movements in this release were motivated by the expiration of points from the 30th Southeast Asian Games 2019, which saw Indonesia lose all its points. As a result, Kenya, American Samoa, Belize and Uganda all moved up one spot. The ranking now counts 44 nations.
Japan is ranked second with 3,286, and is only 32 points behind Australia, which is on top with 3,318 points. Both teams led the world in points in 2023, with Japan first (1,436) and Australia second. In four appearances, Japan's big year included three titles (U-18 World Cup, U-18 Asia Cup, senior Asia Cup) and a second place (U-23 World Cup).
Third in 2023 in points was Mexico (993), thanks to a pair of silver medals at the U-18 World Cup and the Central American and Caribbean Games, and a fourth place at the U-23 World Cup. Czechia (936) and Canada (878) closed the top five nations with most points in 2023.
Compared with the 2022 end-of-the-year ranking, the biggest climber in 2023 has been Great Britain, moving from No. 32 to No. 25 in 12 months, thanks to their participation in the senior and U-18 European Championships. Israel follow with six positions gained in the ranking, going from No. 21 to No. 15.
The points calculation includes results of international tournaments over a four year period.
The WBSC/KONAMI Women's Softball World Ranking will serve as a qualifier for The World Games Chengdu 2025. The top six nations in the ranking at 31st December 2024 will earn an automatic berth in The World Games 2025.
The World Games 2025 will be hosted in Chengdu, China, a city of 20 million people located in the south-west of the country. The multi-sports competition will take place from 7 to 17 August.
On 18 December, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and Konami Digital Entertainment Inc. (KONAMI) extended their global partnership to incorporate the WBSC World Rankings naming rights.