News
2020-10-15

WBSC establishes new Integrity Unit to safeguard
future of baseball and softball


PULLY, Switzerland; 14 October 2020 -- The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today announced the establishment of the WBSC Integrity Unit, a centralised hub for promoting and ensuring integrity within the organisation.

The mission of the WBSC Integrity Unit is to enhance fair play and transparency, protect athletes' rights and promote inclusiveness, and further enhance governance. The Unit will be chaired by WBSC Secretary General Beng Choo Low.

"I am honoured to be appointed Chair of the WBSC Integrity Unit," Choo Low said. "I look forward to building on the great progress already made at the WBSC. The Integrity Unit reinforces the WBSC's commitment, as the world governing body of the sport, to good governance and protecting the rights of all athletes and members of the baseball-softball family, as our sport is practiced by approximately 65 million athletes across more than 140 countries and territories."

In line with the WBSC Strategic Plan for 2021-24, the Unit will be responsible for integrity-related tasks such as safeguarding, governance and compliance, legal, anti-doping, anti-manipulation of competition, control mechanisms, and implementing and adjusting rules, regulations and norms.

WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari said:

"Congratulations to Beng Choo Low for taking on this crucial new position of Chair of the WBSC Integrity Unit. As we look forward to a full competition calendar and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games next year, we are pleased to take this significant step to continue safeguarding the future of baseball and softball, and upholding the highest standards of integrity at WBSC."

Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) President Francesco Ricci Bitti added:

"I congratulate the WBSC for the establishment of its Integrity Unit. This is a further confirmation that our "Good Governance" project is boosting a culture of governance improvement among our members. I welcome all activities gathered under the umbrella of the WBSC Integrity Unit, which will streamline the use resources and foster the development of a network of experts that will help all of us in our future endeavours."