Canada Cup softball teams announced, includes five who will feature at The World Games
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<p>The Canada Cup organising committee announced the field of teams for the 26<sup>th</sup> edition of the traditional international women’s softball event, with five of the eight participating teams in The World Games confirmed. </p>
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<p>World No. 1 USA, No. 3 Canada, No. 4 Mexico, No. 6 Chinese Taipei and No. 8 Australia will take the field at Softball City from 17-26 June, getting ready for The World Games, where they will play for the title of world champion. In addition, European powerhouses No. 10 Netherlands and No. 11 Czech Republic will be part of the event.</p>
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<p>International softball returns to Softball City in Surrey, British Columbia for another edition of the traditional Canada Cup, a yearly softball event that has been interrupted the last two years due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Softball city is one of most recognised softball destinations, having hosted the 2016 WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship and the WBSC Softball Americas Olympic Qualifier in 2019.</p>
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<p>“The response to the return of the Canada Cup has been beyond what we could have expected,” said Canada Cup Chair Greg Timm. “Without a doubt we will see the very best of the best at the 2022 event.”</p>
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<p>The World Games 2022 softball competition will run from 9-13 July in Birmingham, Alabama, with the top-eight nations in the <a href="https://rankings.wbsc.org/en/list/softball/women"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">WBSC Women’s Softball World Rankings</span></strong></a> battling for the gold medal. No. 2 Japan, No. 5 Puerto Rico and No. 7 Italy will join USA, Canada, Mexico, Chinese Taipei and Australia in the five-day competition at Hoover Met Stadium.</p>
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<p><strong>Special celebrations</strong><strong></strong></p>
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<p>During the tournament, the organising committee will host a recognition ceremony for the Canadian Olympic Bronze Medal Team that claimed in Tokyo 2020 the country’s first-ever Olympic softball medal. The Olympic Recognition Ceremony will happen on the Championship Diamond on Friday, 24 June. </p>
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<p>In another very special event, Beijing 2008 Olympian Melanie Matthews will be honoured on 23 June with her WBSC Softball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. One of Canada’s most accomplished softball athletes, Matthews entered into the Hall of Fame in 2019.</p>
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