Barcelona confirmed as host of second WBSC Premier12 Qualifier; Groups announced

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today confirmed Barcelona, Spain, as the host city for the second WBSC Premier12™ 2027 Qualifier, completing the line-up of venues, participating teams as well as the groups for the road to the first-ever 16-team edition of the WBSC's flagship international baseball event.

World No. 24 Spain will welcome World No. 13 Colombia, No. 14 Italy and No. 18 Germany to the Camp Municipal de Beisbol Carlos Pérez de Rozas from 9-11 October, with the top two finishers advancing to the WBSC Premier12 2027 Opening Round.

The Stadium is located in the Olympic Ring (Anella Olímpica), an Olympic Park on the hill of Montjuïc, which was the main site for the 1992 Summer Olympics. The Barcelona City Council named it after Carlos Pérez de Rozas y Sáenz de Tejada (1920-1990), a famed sports photographer and a baseball advocate. The venue opened in 1990, and the Barcelona City Council renovated it in 2022, installing new artificial turf and a water collection and watering system.

Barcelona holds a special place in international baseball history, having awarded the sport’s first-ever Olympic medals at the 1992 Olympic Games. At the time, the Carlos Pérez de Rozas Stadium served as the practice field.

The Carlos Pérez de Rozas Stadium hosted the 2007 European Qualifier for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, one group of the 2009 Baseball World Cup, and three editions of the European Champions Cup Final Four from 2008 to 2010.

Zhongshan, China, was previously confirmed as host of the first WBSC Premier12 2027 Qualifier. World No. 17 China will host World No. 15 Czechia, No. 16 Nicaragua and No. 19 Great Britain from 26–28 November at the Panda Memorial Stadium, part of the Zhongshan International Baseball and Softball Centre.

The top two teams from each Qualifier will secure their place in the IV WBSC Premier12, joining Japan, Chinese Taipei, USA, Korea, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Netherlands, Cuba, Australia and the Dominican Republic — the top 12 teams in the WBSC Men’s Baseball World Ranking as of 31 December 2025.

The WBSC Premier12 2027 will mark a historic milestone as the first edition of the tournament to feature 16 participating nations, highlighting the continued global growth and competitive depth of baseball worldwide.

In the most recent edition, World No. 2 Chinese Taipei captured the Premier12 title, defeating No. 1 Japan in the Championship Game on 24 November 2024.