Reports: High Hopes on Reinstatement of Baseball and Softball at 2020 Tokyo Olympics
(By Baseball Federation of Japan)
The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) convened on December 10th in Lausanne for its final meeting of 2013 and the first led by President Thomas Bach since his election in September.
Major Japanese media including The Asahi and The Yomiuri reported comments by President Bach at the Press Conference in Lausanne on December 10 that the 14 EB member will meet in Montreux from 11 to 14 December to discuss the “Olympic Agenda 2020”, broadly comprising 1. Determination of sports for 2020 Tokyo Olympics and onward, and the maximum numbers, 2. Restore confidence in Olympic Sports to remove all doubts of doping and game fixing and 3. Participation of youth in sports including review of the Youth Olympics. Ideas developed will be proposed for general debate at the IOC Session ahead of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games and the directions of these 3 themes will be decided by the end of 2014.
Separately, the Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda commented at the press conference at IOC Headquarters in Lausanne on December 10 that he was told by a few IOC EB members possibility of additional sports at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. WBSC Co-President Fraccari is encouraged by brightening of prospect of reinstatement, reports the Asahi.
