Baseball5 takes Senegal by storm as WBSC hosts multiple development activities in April
Throughout April, a World Baseball Softball Confederation's (WBSC) delegation visited Senegal to lead several development initiatives aimed at growing Baseball5 in the country and across Africa, while laying the groundwork for its Olympic debut at Dakar 2026.
From 3 to 10 April, the WBSC supported the Senegalese National Baseball5 Team with a week-long training camp in Thiès, Senegal. The camp featured 20 athletes, both male and female, who continued their technical and tactical development as part of the selection process for the national team that will represent Senegal at the Youth Olympic Games.
The activity, led by Tunisian coaches Chedli Mokrani (WBSC Instructor) and Sofiene Riahi (Head Coach of the Tunisian Senior National Baseball5 Team), followed an earlier camp held in Somone in October last year, and is part of an ongoing WBSC-supported development project.
On 7 and 8 April, the WBSC also participated in the OlympAfrica Network Meeting, which is held every two years. This year’s Baseball5 training session took place in Saly, Senegal, and was aimed at Directors of English-speaking OlympAfrica Centres. As part of WBSC’s collaboration with OlympAfrica under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2021, 14 Centre Directors took part, representing the following countries/regions:
- Gambia
- Lesotho
- Eswatini (Swaziland)
- Mozambique
- Malawi
- Namibia
- Nigeria – Lagos
- Nigeria – Port Harcourt
- Uganda
- Sierra Leone
- Tanzania – Zanzibar
- Tanzania – Kibaha
- Zambia
- Rwanda
On 15 April, Baseball5 reached another milestone on its road to the Youth Olympic Games, as the WBSC and the Dakar 2026 Organising Committee carried out a joint on-site inspection in Dakar to evaluate the facilities that will host the Games and to discuss preparations with local organisers.
One week later, from 22 to 24 April, another Baseball5 training session was held in Saly, this time for French-speaking OlympAfrica Centres. A total of 19 Directors participated, representing the following countries/regions:
- Benin
- Burkina Faso – Tanghin
- Burkina Faso – Koudougou
- Burundi
- Cape Verde
- Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville)
- Côte d’Ivoire – Soubré
- Côte d’Ivoire – Sassandra
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guinea (Conakry)
- Mali – Markala
- Mali – Bamako
- Niger – Banifandou
- Niger – Dosso
- São Tomé
- Senegal – Gandiaye
- Senegal – Somone
- Togo
- Chad
This session helped promote Baseball5 as a strategic tool for youth development in each centre, further strengthening the growing collaboration between the WBSC and OlympAfrica.
To close out a busy month, the Senegalese Baseball and Softball Federation, with support from WBSC, organised a local Baseball5 tournament in Dakar on 26 and 27 April. On the first day, nine school teams participated, with School Rufisque winning the competition. On the second day, four club teams took part, with Club de la Medina emerging as champions.
The tournament served as both a promotional event to boost Baseball5’s visibility in Senegal and a development opportunity to expand the national player pool ahead of future international competitions.