WBSC award Lima hosting rights to first-ever Under-18 Women's Softball World Cup

The event will be held at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Complex, the venue for softball competition at this year's Pan American Games, from August 21 to 30 and feature the world's best players from 16 countries.

It marks the first time a Softball World Cup will be staged in Latin America since 2012, when the under-19 men's version was hosted by Argentina.

"WBSC is very happy with the awarding of the Under-18 Women's Softball World Cup to Peru," Tommy Velazquez, chairman of the WBSC Softball Division, said.

"After the amazing softball success at the Pan American Games Lima 2019, we're very proud to continue building the legacy of this event, awarding Peru the hosting rights of one of the most important international softball events in the world."

A total of 12 teams have secured participation so far.

The five teams from the Americas are Canada, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico and the United States, while the three from Asia are China, Chinese Taipei and Japan. 

The three from Europe are Czech Republic, Italy and The Netherlands.

The WBSC Softball Division Board has awarded the wild card to the Philippines, fourth-place finishers at the Under-17 Women's Softball Asia Cup earlier this month.

Two teams from Africa and Oceania are still to be determined.

The Under-18 Women's Softball Regional Qualification Event is scheduled for Australia's capital Canberra on February 15 and 16.

The Under-18 Women's Softball World Cup was created to replace the Under-19 Women's Softball World Cup.

The last edition of the old event was held in Irvine, California, in August.

Hosts the US beat Japan 4-3 in eight innings to claim their third consecutive world title in the category.

They also defeated Japan in the 2015 and 2017 finals.