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WBSC Africa
Type	International sport federation
Purpose	Sport governing body
Headquarters	Minna, Nigeria
Region served	Africa
Membership	24
Official language	English
President	Ishola Williams
Parent organization	World Baseball Softball Confederation

The WBSC Africa, formerly known as, African Baseball and Softball Association (ABSA), is the governing body of baseball and softball within Africa. As of June 2011, there are 24 members.

The confederation is responsible for operation of Baseball at the All-Africa Games.

History

The Africa Baseball and Softball Association (ABSA) was formed on June 8, 1990, in Lagos, Nigeria. The founding countries, 9 in number, were Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The executive committee unanimously appointed at the inaugural meeting included Malcolm Burne (Zimbabwe) as president, Russell Bartlett (Namibia) as 1st vice president, Ray Pitcher (Zambia) as 2nd vice president, Brigadier Ishola Williams (Nigeria) as secretary general, Lieutenant Colonel L Gwadabe (Nigeria) as assistant secretary general and Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke (Nigeria) as treasurer. The executive director of the International Baseball Association (IBA), David Osinski was present at the inaugural meeting. The meeting was declared open by the then Minister of Sports of Nigeria, Air Commodore Anthony Ikhazoboh. The 1st ABSA Congress was organised in 1992 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Thereafter 6 congresses have been held, with the 2nd held in 1993 in Cape Town, South Africa, the 3rd in 1994 in Johannesburg, South Africa, the 4th in 1995 in Harare, Zimbabwe, the 5th in 1996 in Lagos, Nigeria at which a new executive committee was elected to replace the appointed one.

This Executive Committee comprised Major General Ishola Williams (Nigeria) as president, Ray Pitcher (Zambia) as vice president baseball, Matthews Kutumela (South Africa) as vice president softball, Etienne N’Guessan (Côte d'Ivoire) as secretary general and Fridah Shiroya (Kenya) as treasurer.

Also in 1996, responsibility for the promotion and development of the games was devolved to zones, and zonal coordinators were appointed as follows: zonal chairman North Africa Zone – Mohammed Ben Guiza (Tunisia), zonal chairman East and Central Africa Zone – Solomon Gacece (Kenya), zonal coordinator West Africa Zone – Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke (Nigeria), and zonal chairman Southern Africa Zone – Edwin Bennett.

The 6th Congress was held in 2001 in Minna, Nigeria, at which Françoise Kameni Lele (Cameroon) was elected treasurer and the 7th Congress in 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya. At the 7th Congress, Major General Ishola Williams was confirmed as president, Fridah Shiroya was elected vice president softball, and Mabothobile Shebe (Lesotho) was elected secretary general.

The 1st Africa Cup Baseball Championship was organised in 1992 in Harare, Zimbabwe with only 4 countries participating with the final standings as follows: South Africa – 1st, Zimbabwe – 2nd, Nigeria – 3rd and Zambia – 4th. The 2nd Africa Cup Baseball Championship in 1993 in Cape Town, South Africa, the 3rd Africa Cup Baseball Championship in 1995 in Harare, Zimbabwe, the 4th Africa Cup Championship in 2001 in Kampala, Uganda. The first time baseball featured in the All-Africa Games was in 1999 in the 7th All-Africa Games in South Africa and the second time was in 2003 in the 8th All-Africa Games in Nigeria.

The first age group baseball tournament organised by the ABSA was the 1st ABSA/KENKO Under-13 Baseball Tournament with teams from four countries participating: Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe which was won by South Africa.

The competitions organised by the ABSA now include the Africa Cup, the AA Under-15, the AAA Under-17, the Club Championship and the Little League.

Members

Baseball

Code	Association	National teams	Founded	Membership	IOC member
BEN	Benin	(M, W)	2018	Full	Yes
BOT	Botswana	(M, W)	2008	Full	Yes
BUR	Burkina Faso	(M, W)	2004	Full	Yes
CMR	Cameroon	(M, W)	1997	Full	Yes
CPV	Cape Verde	(M, W)	2020	Full	Yes
COD	Congo	(M, W)	2010	Full	Yes
EGY	Egypt	(M, W)	2018	Full	Yes
GHA	Ghana	(M, W)	1992	Full	Yes
CIV	Ivory Coast	(M, W)	1996	Full	Yes
KEN	Kenya	(M, W)	1997	Full	Yes
LES	Lesotho	(M, W)	1994	Full	Yes
NGR	Nigeria	(M, W)	1989	Full	Yes
SLE	Sierra Leone	(M, W)	2021	Full	Yes
RSA	South Africa	(M, W)	1935	Full	Yes
TAN	Tanzania	(M, W)	2014	Full	Yes
TOG	Togo	(M, W)		Full	Yes
TUN	Tunisia	(M, W)	1920	Full	Yes
UGA	Uganda	(M, W)	1989	Full	Yes
ZAM	Zambia	(M, W)		Full	Yes
ZIM	Zimbabwe	(M, W)	1952	Full	Yes

Former members

Association	National teams
Angola	(M, W)
Chad	(M, W)
Liberia	(M, W)
Morocco	(M, W)
Namibia	(M, W)
Niger	(M, W)

These nations were members in the IBF, but do not currently have membership in the WBSC. Their current status within the African Baseball and Softball Association cannot be confirmed as of 2023.

Softball

Code	Association	National teams	Founded	Membership	IOC member
BEN	Benin	(M, W)	2018	Full	Yes
BOT	Botswana	(M, W)	1977	Full	Yes
BUR	Burkina Faso	(M, W)	2004	Full	Yes
CMR	Cameroon	(M, W)	1997	Full	Yes
CPV	Cape Verde	(M, W)	2020	Full	Yes
COD	Congo	(M, W)	2010	Full	Yes
EGY	Egypt	(M, W)	2018	Full	Yes
GAM	Gambia	(M, W)	2009	Full	Yes
GHA	Ghana	(M, W)	1992	Full	Yes
KEN	Kenya	(M, W)	1986	Full	Yes
LES	Lesotho	(M, W)	1994	Full	Yes
NGR	Nigeria	(M, W)	1989	Full	Yes
SEN	Senegal	(M, W)	2000	Full	Yes
RSA	South Africa	(M, W)	1994	Full	Yes
TAN	Tanzania	(M, W)	2014	Full	Yes
TUN	Tunisia	(M, W)	1920	Full	Yes
UGA	Uganda	(M, W)	1989	Full	Yes
ZAM	Zambia	(M, W)		Full	Yes
ZIM	Zimbabwe	(M, W)	2008	Full	Yes

Former members

Association	National teams
Guinea	(M, W)
Guinea-Bissau	(M, W)
Ivory Coast	(M, W)
Liberia	(M, W)
Mali	(M, W)
Namibia	(M, W)
Sierra Leone	(M, W)

WBSC World Rankings

Baseball

WBSC Men's Rankings (as of 27 November 2024)^[1]
Africa*	WBSC	+/-	National Team	Points
1	30		South Africa	313
2	48	2	Uganda	72
3	67	3	Kenya	23
4	81	4	Tanzania	4
*Local rankings based on WBSC ranking points

Softball

WBSC Men's Softball Rankings (as of 26 April 2023)^[2]
Africa*	WBSC	+/-	National Team	Points
1	14	2	South Africa	894
2	18	1	Botswana	253
3	35	1	Kenya	10
4	38		Uganda	3
*Local rankings based on WBSC ranking points

WBSC Women's Rankings (as of 10 November 2023)^[3]
Africa*	WBSC	+/-	National Team	Points
1	36	5	South Africa	206
2	39	7	Botswana	176
3	57	1	Kenya	32
4	61		Lesotho	8
5	66		Uganda	0
*Local rankings based on WBSC ranking points

Baseball5

WBSC Baseball5's Rankings (as of 9 August 2024)^[4]
Africa*	WBSC	+/-	National Team	Points
1	3	1	Tunisia	2535
2	6		South Africa	1929
3	11		Ghana	1222
4	15	1	Kenya	1046
5	16		Zambia	798
6	22		Tanzania	621
7	27		Uganda	398
8	30		Burkina Faso	307
9	32		Cape Verde	192
10	38		Nigeria	114
11	40		Zimbabwe	60
12	42		Benin	59
13	48		Togo	6
*Local rankings based on WBSC ranking points

Historical leaders

Highest Ranked Africa member in the WBSC Rankings

Men's baseball

Men's softball

Women's softball

References

^ "The WBSC World Ranking". WBSC. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
^ "The WBSC Men's Softball World Ranking". WBSC. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
^ "The WBSC Women's World Ranking". WBSC. 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
^ "The WBSC Baseball5 World Ranking". WBSC. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.