France reaches new record in registered baseball and softball players
The French Baseball Softball Federation (FFBS) announced a new record in registered players, which is now 14,654. The figure is up 7% from 2021 and 40% from 2012.
FFBS broke the 13,000-player milestone in 2017 and has always been above that mark except for the 2020 season, plagued by COVID-19 restrictions, when numbers dropped to 12,625.
The growth appears more significant in the U-12 and U-15 age brackets while 47.4% of the registered players are in the U-18 age bracket, with the mid-term goal to reach 50%.
Totalling 3,252, female athletes are 22.1% of the total.
Age categories Men Women Grand total 6 years and under 254 68 322 9 and under 1,055 253 1,308 12 and under 1,560 406 1,966 15 and under 1,514 519 2,033 18 and under 999 312 1,311 21 and under 585 154 739 Senior 5,435 1,540 6,975 Grand total 11,402 3,252 14,654
FFBS also announced France will host the 2023 U-12 Baseball European Championship in Valenciennes.