• Submitted by: manso
• Sports
• 08 / 13 / 2010

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HAVANA, Cuba, Aug 12 (acn) Executive Secretary of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) Israel Roldan arrives in Cuba on Thursday to discuss with local authorities the Cuban participation in the October qualifiers for the Pan-American Games and the World Championship.

According to the JIT website, Roldan, from Puerto Rico, will try to coordinate details about the presence of Cuba in the tournament to take place from October 1-10 in Puerto Rico.

The tournament will give tickets to the Guadalajara Pan-American Games and the World Baseball Championship both scheduled for 2011.

The IBAF executive, who is a fan of Cuban baseball, considers important the participation of the Cuban team in the event to which other 11 national squads confirmed their participation.

Regarding the competitions program, Roldan assured that Major League players will not take part in the contest as agreed by IBAF and MLB. Only triple-A and double-A players are allowed to attend.

However, Roldan predicted that it will be a hard competition with a lot of rivalry among the teams.

Regarding the venue of the 2011 World Championship, Roldan, who is also vice-president of the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee, announced that his country, Venezuela, Chinese Taipei and one European nation are looking to be the host.

Cuba won the Pan-American title in Rio de Janeiro 2007; however, it hasn't won the World Cup in five years.

Source: ACN