| Event: | Softball |
| Year: | 2022 |
| Venue: | Hoover Metropolitan Stadium |
| Dates: | July 9–13, 2022 |
| Nations: | 8 |
| Previous: | 2013 |
The softball competition at the 2022 World Games took place from July 9–13, 2022,[1] in Birmingham in United States, at the University of Alabama Birmingham. Originally scheduled to take place in July 2021, the Games were rescheduled for July 2022 as a result of the 2020 Summer Olympics postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Softball returned to the official programme of the World Games after nine years of absence.
This tournament also served as the world championship for softball.[3]
A total of eight teams are divided into two groups of four teams each. In each group, teams played against each other once in a single round-robin format, for a total of three matches per team. The top two of each of the two groups advanced to the knockout stage.
Eight teams qualified, including United States, which, as host nation, qualifies automatically. Qualification places were primarily based on national softball ranking. The last berth was awarded at the European Softball Championship, which was scheduled to take place in 2020 but have been moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]
| Team | Date of qualification | Method of qualification | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| data-sort-value="1" | 22 April 2020 | Host | ||
| data-sort-value="2" | 22 April 2020 | Finished 2nd in WBSC ranking | ||
| data-sort-value="3" | 22 April 2020 | Finished 3rd in WBSC ranking | ||
| data-sort-value="4" | 22 April 2020 | Finished 5th in WBSC ranking | ||
| data-sort-value="5" | 22 April 2020 | Finished 6th in WBSC ranking | ||
| data-sort-value="6" | 22 April 2020 | Finished 7th in WBSC ranking | ||
| data-sort-value="7" | 22 April 2020 | Finished 8th in WBSC ranking | ||
| data-sort-value="8" | 3 July 2021 | Finished 1st at the 2021 Women's Softball European Championship | ||
| data-sort-value="8" | 24 March 2022 | Wildcard |
The match schedule of the softball tournament was unveiled on 24 February 2022.[5]
| G | Group stage | C | Classification matches | ½ | Semi-finals | B | Bronze medal match | F | Gold medal match |
| 9 Sat | 10 Sun | 11 Mon | 12 Tue | 13 Wed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | C | ½ | C | B | F | ||
See main article: Softball at the 2022 World Games – Squads.
| Women's tournament |