Palestine's U15 baseball team accepts bid to play in Asian Baseball Championship

Baseball & Softball Federation continues to expand despite genocide & apartheid

Baseball is growing quickly amongst Palestinians at home and in the diaspora and their latest invitation to a prestigious Asian Baseball Championship tournament signifies that growth.

The Palestine Baseball and Softball Federation is building off the momentum of their men’s baseball team—which is ranked among the top 50 nations in the world and scheduled to participate in the West Asia Cup in Iran next month. 

The U15 team is still finalizing its roster for the tournament, but a team of Palestinian youth will represent their land and culture in Taiwan August 17-23rd, according to the Palestine Baseball and Softball Federation president Ahmad Tafesh.

Because of the on going Genocide in Gaza and the continued violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, most of Palestine’s baseball recruits come from the diaspora, specifically the United States. The same will be true for its U15 team.

Tafesh confirmed the federation will participate in the Asian Championship tournament after receiving the official invitation from the Baseball Federation of Asia. He admitted the tournament comes at a difficult time because the Palestinian people are going through unimaginable circumstances as a result of the criminal war on the Gaza Strip.

"We will do everything we can to represent Palestine and raise its name high, and we will work hard to achieve the best results despite the difficult circumstances we are going through," Tafesh added.

He concluded his statement by stressing that federation’s participation is a message of hope and steadfastness, greeting our people in Gaza, saying:

"Long live a free Arab Palestine, and freedom for Gaza and its people."

Eight teams will participate in the tournament. The other seven have not been confirmed yet, but could include Japan, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) and Pakistan.