The Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) considered an “obstacle” to his participation in the V World Classic (WCB) the fact that the United States government has not yet issued the necessary permits for the inclusion in its team of players from the Island who play in Major League Baseball (MLB).
For the first time since the beginning of these tournaments, the FCB agreed to include in its call-up players who without its protection play in different professional leagues outside the country, including the MLBand has made public the names of some players on that circuit who have accepted the call.
“Now we are informed that for that a permit from the North American government is also required,” said Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, president of the FCB, quoted in a note published in the sports portal Hit.
Cossío denounces that #USA does not give the green light to players to the V World Classic of #Baseball
“In #USA everything that is linked to Cuba is prohibited (…)”, affirms the vice minister of foreign affairs. #BaseBall https://t.co/deAYtFFw1x pic.twitter.com/VzcJBxWzOb— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) December 7, 2022
The text does not clarify who communicated this requirement to the FCB, nor the entity in charge of issuing these authorizations. However, it is recognized that the organizers have already received permission from the United States government for the participation of the Cuban team in the contest.
“In the last few hours we have received the news that permission was granted for Cuba to play in the Classic,” said Pérez Pardo, who questioned whether the representative of the Island is the only one “that needs a permit from the government of USA to be able to participate in the event.
The executive added that because Cuba had not been invited to participate in the preparatory phase of the event, which had already begun, until now, Cuba had not been invited to participate in the preparatory phase of the event.
“We had not been asked to deliver the list of the 50 athletes eligible to make up the team that will represent us in this important tournament, as was already done with the rest of the countries that qualified for the V Clásico,” said the quoted FCB president. by Hit.
The FCB, through its owner, rejects what it assessed as “discriminatory treatment against Cuba caused by the United States government”, and considers that its motivations “are purely political and threaten the exercise and enjoyment of sport.”
Since the beginning of the World Classic, Cuba’s participation has been accompanied by controversy, because as it is a tournament in which an American company participates and distributes cash prizes, the inclusion of the Island could be violating the laws that uphold the economic embargo of United States to the island.
In order to participate in the first edition of the contest, which ended with Cuba occupying the second position, the FCB agreed to participate without the possibility of collecting possible prizes, on the condition that their amount be allocated to those affected by Hurricane Katrina, which caused considerable havoc in the city of New Orleans.
Under the same premise, and given the novel call for players with MLB contracts, they would have to obtain specific permission from the US authorities, something that seemed solved with the agreement signed between MLB and the FCB in 2018 under the Democratic administration of Barack Obama.
However, his successor Donald Trump vetoed the agreement, alleging that the FCB was an organization dependent on the Cuban government, and the formula that pursued an orderly and safe insertion of Cuban players in the Big Top, without having to establish residence abroad, was rendered ineffective. from the country.
The V World Baseball Classic is scheduled from March 8 to 21 with venues in the cities of Taichung (Taiwan), Tokyo (Japan), Phoenix and Miami (United States).
The Cuban team would begin by playing in the Taiwanese city, along with teams from Italy, the Netherlands, Panama and the host nation.
