Riccardo Fraccari
| Riccardo Fraccari | |
|---|---|
 |
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| President of the World Baseball Softball Confederation | |
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Assumed office May 10, 2014 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 30, 1949 Pisa, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
Riccardo Fraccari (born May 30, 1949 in Pisa, Italy) is a world sport administrator, holding various high-ranking positions, most notably as president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation and International Baseball Federation. He was elected WBSC president in May 2014, and is serving a 7-year term.
Fraccari was elected as president of the International Baseball Federation in December 2009, succeeding American Harvey Schiller, and immediately set out to hold merger discussions with the International Softball Federation. He spearheaded negotiations to consolidate international baseball and softball to establish and successfully launch the World Baseball Softball Confederation in October 2012, uniting baseball and softball's global movements and streamlining the two sports' efforts to return to the Olympic Games.
In February 2015, Fraccari appointed Antonio Castro, the son of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, as WBSC Global Ambassador and Kenyon & Kenyon Washington D.C.-based attorney Edward Colbert, brother of American political satirist Stephen Colbert, as WBSC General Counsel.
In less than three years since overseeing the establishment of the WBSC, Fraccari has elevated the new world ruling body to be considered among the Top 30 "Ultimate Sports Federations" in the world.
Fraccari has expanded international baseball properties to include a new flagship world tournament, the WBSC Premier 12 Professional Baseball National Team Championship, and also the Under-12 Baseball World Cup and the Under-21 Baseball World Cup, which affect baseball's World Rankings.
Under Fraccari, the world governing body for baseball also established the first-ever "Europe" team to compete in officially recognized international competitions, setting a historical precedent.
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