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Paul McNamara

The mastermind behind Hong Kong’s successful bid to stage next week’s Baseball5 World Cup said the tournament would provide a global showcase for the city’s ability to host marquee sports events.
Dave Ho, the chairman of the local baseball association, alighted on the idea of bringing the World Cup to Hong Kong when he was at the inaugural edition in Mexico two years ago.
The Baseball Association of Hong Kong, China is stumping up half of the roughly HK$12 million (US$1.5 million) needed to put on the event. Ho acknowledged a hefty portion of that cash would not be recouped, but insisted the opportunity to grow baseball and “announce to the world we [Hong Kong] are here to stay and develop” made the investment worthwhile.
“We are building the foundation we need for baseball to grow in Hong Kong,” Ho said.
“We can’t magically find 10,000 young people to play the sport – we need to plant seeds and develop them.
“Baseball5 fits perfectly in Hong Kong, because you can play in small spaces.
“Schools have been very receptive to the sport; a lot of them don’t have much real estate and they only need half of the gym to play.
“We have staged workshops for commentators, production staff, tournament officials, referees and coaches to expand the ecosystem.

“Our association has a reserve fund for promoting baseball, and we have sponsors and matching funds from the Major Sports Events Committee. In future, we need to attract more sponsorship.
“This is only the beginning – there is much more to come.”
The six-day World Cup, which is being staged at Central Harbourfront, begins on Monday with a game between Lithuania and defending champions Cuba. An official “M” Mark event, it features 12 mixed-gender teams from five continents, with the Cubans and Chinese Taipei – the world No 1 team – the favourites for success when the tournament reaches its climax on Saturday.
Hong Kong’s objective is to improve on their showing in 2022, when they finished bottom of the pile after winning one of their eight matches. Equally, Ho’s ambition for the city reflects that of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) when they introduced B5 in 2018 as a means of enticing more people to baseball.
“This is a huge promotional campaign for the WBSC and for baseball,” Ho said.
“We want to show that in Hong Kong we can host world-level professional tournaments, and send that message to the world.
“We are a small association, but we are working our backsides off to show we can handle big events.
“We don’t get a lot of exposure as a sport. Our players have been training six days a week for the past four months. A lot of them played in Mexico but they have jumped to another level. They have also been volunteering to go into schools … if we are going to grow the game in schools, they need to know what it is.”
Baseball and softball have both had fluctuating relationships with the Olympics. The two sports were dropped from this year’s Games, but have been restored to the programme for 2028 in Los Angeles, because of their popularity with American audiences.
Baseball5 has taken the first step to joining the party after been included in the 2026 Youth Olympics.
“The Olympics is the gold standard,” Ho added. “Fewer people around the world are playing baseball and softball, so we need to grow the sport again.
“There has been a lot of stress organising this World Cup, but knowing the importance of it provides even more motivation to make sure it’s a success. We don’t have all the staff to oversee marketing and production, and to arrange accommodation for the teams and officials, but it has been a great learning experience.
“We have an iconic venue … and we will create a gala atmosphere. B5 is going to penetrate this city – it begins now in Hong Kong.”


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Hong Kong Sports Institute

Baseball5 World Cup will show Hong Kong can host high-level events, organisers say

Dave Ho (far right) with the Hong Kong team that will compete in their home World Cup.

Hong Kong’s players have been training six times every week leading into the six-day tournament.

Major League Baseball: meet the Japanese player who paved Shohei Ohtani’s way 60 years ago

Masanori Murakami became the first Japanese player to play in Major League Baseball in the US when he made his debut for the San Francisco Giants in 1964. Photo: AFP

Shohei Ohtani is the first MLB player to achieve 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. Photo: AP

Figurines of Masanori Murakami are seen at a display of memorabilia in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture. Photo: AFP

Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo is often mistakenly described as the first Japanese player in the MLB. Photo: AFP

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Asian Games 2023: Hong Kong baseball’s part-timers set to face Korean, Taiwanese pros

Hong Kong’s squad cannot compete with the top bracket but hope to record their best Games finish. Photo: Baseball Association of Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong pitcher Alex Chan is devoting himself to baseball full-time. Photo: BAHKC

Hong Kong has taken a baseball squad of 43 to Hangzhou. Photo: BAHKC

Hong Kong’s players gather during a training camp in Taiwan this month. Photo: BAHKC

LA Olympics: organisers propose cricket, flag football, lacrosse, squash to make debuts 2028 Games

Three sports have potential to debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Photo: Reuters

Squash, featured at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, could soon make an Olympic debut. Photo: AP

Sport

Chairman of local association wants to ‘plant seeds’ to grow the sport in the city as Cuba defend world title in six-day tournament


Chairman of local association wants to ‘plant seeds’ to grow the sport in the city as Cuba defend world title in six-day tournament.


Major League Baseball (MLB)

Olympics