the process of merging into a new combined federation that will govern both sports, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). The merging was concluded in 2015, and WBSC managed to obtain the bid for 2020 Games on following months. International events The International Baseball Federation organized the following world championship tournaments before WBSC merger: WBSC Premier 12 World Baseball Classic IBAF Women's Baseball World Cup IBAF 23U Baseball World Cup (formerly 21U) IBAF 18U Baseball World Cup IBAF 15U Baseball World Cup (formerly 16U) IBAF 12U Baseball World Cup The first-ever 12U Baseball World Championship was played in Taipei from July 8 to 17, 2011. Taiwan won the first title. In addition, the IBAF is the sanctioning body for the World Baseball Classic, which is hosted by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association and held every four years in the year after the Summer Olympics. The IBAF abandoned its former world championship, the Baseball World Cup, after the 2011 edition in favor of an expanded World Baseball Classic. It was originally intended to be the sanctioning body for the Premier 12, a new men's international tournament – featuring the twelve best-ranked national teams – that began in 2015; that tournament instead has been sanctioned by the WBSC. This event is played in the year preceding the Summer Olympics. The IBAF discontinued the Intercontinental Cup, which was an invitational event and last held in 2010. International baseball demographics Estimated data, according to the IBAF, as of April 2011: Number of countries with an organized baseball league: 77 Number of total participants in organized baseball competitions worldwide: 35,000,000 (million) Number of female athletes: 300,000 Number of athletes with a disability: 200,000 Number of visually impaired athletes: 2,175 Number of registered youth baseball teams: 273,366 Number of Players (ages 7–18) registered by youth leagues: 3,999,760 IBAF Global Baseball Video Organizational structure The IBAF comprises five continental confederations that currently represent a total of 127 national member federations. IBAF Africa: African Baseball & Softball Association (ABSA) - 24 member countries IBAF Oceania: Baseball Confederation of Oceania (BCO) - 14 member countries IBAF Asia: Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) - 24 member countries IBAF Europe: Confederation of European Baseball (French:Confédération Européenne de Baseball) (CEB) - 38 member countries IBAF Americas: Pan American Baseball Confederation (Spanish:Confederación Panamericana de Béisbol) (COPABE) - 27 member countries Presidents Leslie Mann: 1938 Jaime Mariné: 1939 to