The Israel Association of Baseball was chosen as the European federation of the year for 2021 on Saturday at the fifth World Baseball Softball Confederation Europe General Congress in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The highlights based on which Israel was selected include a fifth-place finish in the Olympic Games in Tokyo and winning the silver medal at the European Baseball Championship.
Peter Kurz, Team Israel’s general manager, was in Ljubljana to receive the award.
"I am honored to be part of this group effort in 2021 of Israel Baseball – of reaching and playing in the Olympics; achieving a silver medal in the European Championships and launching two new fields,” Kurz said. “We are building the program in Israel and sending three youth teams this summer to European Championship tournaments. I hope for more big news this week from the WBSC Europe.”
Also at the congress, Ami Baran, was elected WBSC Europe Secretary General. Baran is also the Executive Director of the Israel Softball Association and the President of the Israel Athletics Association.