Current season, competition or edition: 2024 Women's Softball World Cup | |
Sport | Softball |
---|---|
Founded | 1965 |
No. of teams | 16 (finals) |
Continent | International |
Most recent champion(s) | Japan (4th title) (2024) |
Most titles | United States (12 titles) |
The Women's Softball World Cup is a fastpitch softball tournament for women's national teams held historically every four years, now every two years, by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).[1] The tournament, originally known as the ISF Women's World Championship, was sanctioned by the International Softball Federation (ISF) until that body's 2013 merger with the International Baseball Federation to create the WBSC. The number of teams in the tournament began at five in its inaugural event in 1965, went to a high of 28 for the 1994 edition, and now the WBSC Code legislates that the maximum number of teams that may participate is 16. There are qualifying tournaments that determine which countries will play at the World Cup.