LONDON, United Kingdom – The WBSC has announced that Great Britain has been selected as one of the announced teams to participate in the 2026 Premier12 Qualifier. Great Britain will play in one of the two qualification groups, to be announced later, along with World No. 13 Colombia, No. 14 Italy, No. 15 Czechia, No. 16 Nicaragua, No. 17 China and No. 18 Germany, and a team yet-to-be-announced. The top 4 teams will advance to the 2027 Premier12 main tournament.

This will be Great Britain’s first time competing in the Premier12 tournament. Since 2023, GBR has maintained a Top 20 place in the WBSC World Rankings, essential for Premier12 qualification. Prior to the qualification tournament later this year, Great Britain will play in Pool B of the World Baseball Classic in Houston, Texas, facing the United States, Mexico, Italy and Brazil this coming March.

“Great Britain’s selection for the Premier12 Qualifier tournament is a positive step towards the LA 2028 games, and a sign of the programme’s upward trajectory, “said Performance Director Gary Anderson. “As the programme continues to grow and develop, and with so many recent successes, invitations to elite competitions such as the Premier12 give us further opportunity to test ourselves against the best teams in the world and best prepare our athletes and coaches to compete at the highest level.”

In its fourth edition, the WBSC Premier12 will feature a new format with the top 12 teams in the WBSC Men’s Baseball World Ranking (as of 31 December 2025) joined by four teams from two qualification tournaments to be played in 2026. China will host one of two four-team Qualification Tournaments at the International Baseball and Softball Centre in Zhongshan (Guangdong Province), from November 26 to 29, 2026. The WBSC will announce the host of the second qualification tournament soon.

Along with the four teams that advance from the Qualifier Tournaments, the Premier12 will include Japan, Chinese Taipei, USA, Korea, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Netherlands, Cuba, Australia, and the Dominican Republic.

Fore more on the Premier12, please click here. For more information about the World Baseball Classic, please visit mlb.com/world-baseball-classic.

For the latest news and notes from GB Baseball at the World Baseball Classic, make sure to follow Great Britain Baseball on Facebook, gb_baseball on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, TikTok at @gbbaseball, and on the British Baseball Federation website, britishbaseball.org.uk.

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