'World Cup 10th place, then withdrawal, then withdrawal': The 'potential' Olympic gold medalist sport that Korean baseball has ignored is already falling behind

*This content was translated by AI.

In Baseball5, a sport expected to be adopted for future Olympics, Korean baseball is rapidly losing its competitiveness on the global stage.

Recently, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) introduced on its official website that "the Korea Baseball and Softball Association (KBSA) is cooperating with the School Sports Promotion Association (SSPA) to expand the influence of Baseball5 within schools," citing it as one of the cases of Baseball5 promotion. The article included a video of students enjoying Baseball5 at Seoul Songgok High School, a school with a focus on physical education.

Baseball5 is a sport newly introduced by the WBSC in 2017 to promote baseball and softball globally. It is a sport that anyone, regardless of age or gender, can easily enjoy anywhere with just a rubber ball and no special equipment. It is not an entirely unfamiliar sport in Korea either. While it may be unknown to younger generations, there was a time when, in areas with few baseball fields, people drew bases on open lots and played with a small group of 4 to 5 people using a single rubber ball. Baseball5 is the systematized version of street baseball, which was known by nicknames such as fistball and jjamppong in neighborhoods.

The advantage of being able to enjoy baseball as easily as street basketball appealed to countries that were previously barren lands, such as those in Africa and Europe. They began actively developing Baseball5 players from 2018, and this has led to actual results in international competitions. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has captured this trend. The fact that the IOC has officially adopted Baseball5 as a sport for the 2026 Dakar Summer Youth Olympics, to be held in June this year, is evidence of this.

Recently, the IOC has been actively embracing urban sports that can be enjoyed in narrow spaces or have good accessibility for younger generations, keeping pace with the changing times. The entry of sports climbing, 3x3 basketball, and skateboarding into the official Olympic program are representative examples. When these three sports were selected as official Olympic events, most people considered them to be temporary phenomena that took advantage of the host country's benefits.

However, these sports quickly captured the attention of fans worldwide. Sports climbing, after being introduced as an official event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, gradually established itself by splitting into two events (men's and women's boulder & lead, speed, etc., for a total of 4 gold medals) at the 2024 Paris Olympics and three events (men's and women's boulder & lead & speed, etc., for a total of 6 gold medals) at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Skateboarding, after being promoted to an official event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, survived through the 2024 Paris and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, making it possible to compete for a total of 4 gold medals (men's and women's street & park events).

3x3 basketball is the most relevant case for Baseball5 to reference. It took only the core elements from existing popular sports with large scales, and the growth process of the sport itself is similar. 3x3 basketball also began with its introduction at the 2010 Singapore Summer Youth Olympics. The first official 3x3 World Cup organized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) was held in 2012, and it continued through the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games to be promoted as an official Olympic event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

3x3 basketball, which gained great popularity at the 2024 Paris Olympics, is now expanding its size, such as increasing the number of participating teams from 8 to 12 for both men and women at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which will be held in the birthplace of basketball, the United States. A green light has been given, as evaluations suggest that fans who became interested in 3x3 basketball also had the positive effect of actually watching regular basketball.

Baseball5 has the potential to become an official Olympic sport like 3x3 basketball because it has supplemented the universality and expandability, which were the main reasons baseball was ignored in the Olympics. Furthermore, as a sport that overcomes physical limitations and allows men and women to participate together, it is highly evaluated for its potential as it aligns with the current social agenda. If this happens, Baseball5 has sufficient potential to become another gold medal sport for Korea.

KBSA President Yang Hae-young stated at a memorandum of understanding ceremony held last November to activate youth female players, "Regarding Baseball5, our country is merely a frog in a well. When we go to the WBSC General Assembly, we find that many countries are more interested in Baseball5, which is played by all countries, rather than baseball, which is played by only some countries. Just as 3x3 basketball, once known as street basketball, became an official Olympic event, there is a high possibility that Baseball5 will also enter the Olympics."

If there is continued interest due to having one of the world's top baseball infrastructures, rapid results could be expected. However, interest and support from the baseball community for Baseball5 remain minimal. As a result, despite having excellent infrastructure and resources, Korean Baseball5 has already lost its competitiveness on the global stage. After recording 10th place at the inaugural Baseball5 World Cup in 2022, the country failed to even participate in the 2024 and 2026 tournaments, causing its ranking to drop significantly.

As of May 2026, Korea's ranking in Baseball5 is 11th in the world, already trailing behind Tunisia (5th), Lithuania (8th), Kenya (9th), and Turkey (10th). It will be too late to prepare after it is decided as an official event for the Asian Games or the Olympics.

Since 2022, the KBSA has launched efforts to promote Baseball5. Last year, it strengthened solidarity through agreements with the Korea Little League Baseball Association, the Korea Women's Baseball Association, the Korea T-ball Association, and the Korea Slow-pitch Baseball Association, while also increasing personnel for Baseball5 promotion and operations and working to spread student and community sports. The reason for expecting the growth of Baseball5 is that lowering the barrier to entry for baseball can lead to co-growth in women's baseball and softball, as well as the revitalization of student sports.

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*This content was translated by AI.