College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the Intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is normally played by men.
The Japan national baseball team, also known as Samurai Japan (侍ジャパン), is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, and 2023 as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 2nd in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United States has won many international tournaments, many of which are now discontinued. Most notably the team won the Olympic baseball tournament in 2000, and the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2017.
The Italy national baseball team represents Italy in international baseball competitions. The Italian national team was ranked 16th in the world as of 2022. The team is managed by Mike Piazza, a former New York Mets player and Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee.
Softball was on the Olympic programme from 1996 to 2008. It was introduced at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and was removed from the programme for 2012 and 2016, but was added for a one-off appearance, along with baseball, for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The Japan women's national softball team is the national team of Japan in international softball competitions. It is governed by the Japan Softball Association. They are currently ranked #2 in the world by the International Softball Federation. In four Olympic Games, since 1996 until 2008, Japan has won one gold medal, a silver medal and a bronze medal. In the top four nations at the Olympics, Japan is the second most successful national team, following the United States, and beating out Australia and China with one silver medal. After winning the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Japanese national team was defeated by the United States team at the XII Women's Softball World Championship in Caracas, Venezuela.
The United States women's national softball team is the national softball team of the United States. It is governed by USA Softball and takes part in international softball competitions. The US team has been successful in international play, taking the gold medal in three straight Olympics and seven straight World championships. At the 2004 Olympics, the Americans held their opponents to only one run scored in 7 games. The lone run came in a 5–1 victory over the Australian team. However, the team then won the silver medals at the 2008 and 2020 Summer Olympics, both times narrowly losing to Japan.
The Australia women's national softball team, also known as the Aussie Spirit, is the national softball team of Australia. It is governed by Softball Australia and takes part in international softball competitions. They are one of Australia's most successful women's sporting teams on the world stage, and they have achieved outstanding results over the last 3 decades. Alongside the USA team, the Aussie Spirit are the only other team to medal at all 4 Olympics that softball was included as a sport in the Olympics program. At the inaugural Women's Softball World Championship held in Melbourne, 1965. Australia claimed the first ever title, winning Gold and stamped themselves as a pioneer in the sport.
The Philippines Women's National Softball Team, nicknamed the "Blu Girls", is the national team of Philippines. They are governed by the Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines. They won a bronze medal in 1970 ISF Women's World Championship in Osaka, Japan and it was their first medal won in a World Championship.
The Australian Men's Softball Team is the national softball team of Australia. They are nicknamed the Aussie Steelers. The team is governed by Softball Australia and takes part in international softball competitions.
Cuba men's national softball team represents Cuba in international softball competitions. The team played at the 1988 World Championships were held in Saskatoon, Canada. They played 13 games in a round robin tournament, and beat Australia 7–4 in one game.
Italy women's national softball team is one of the top-ranked softball teams in Europe.
World Baseball Softball Confederation is the world governing body for the sports of baseball, softball, and Baseball5. It was established in 2013 by the merger of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and International Softball Federation (ISF), the former world governing bodies for baseball and softball, respectively. Under WBSC's organizational structure, IBAF and ISF now serve as the Baseball Division and Softball Division of WBSC. Each division is governed by an executive committee, while the WBSC is governed by an executive board.
Chinese Taipei women's national softball team is the national team for Taiwan.
Venezuela women's national softball team is the national team for Venezuela. The team competed at the 1998 ISF Women's World Championship in Fujinomiya City, Japan where they finished eighth. The team competed at the 2002 ISF Women's World Championship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where they finished tenth. The team competed at the 2006 ISF Women's World Championship in Beijing, China where they finished seventh. The team competed at the 2010 ISF Women's World Championship in Caracas, Venezuela where they finished fifth.
South Africa women's national softball team is the national team for South Africa administered by Softball South Africa. The team competed at the 1998 ISF Women's World Championship in Fujinomiya City, Japan where they finished fifteenth. The team competed at the 2002 ISF Women's World Championship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where they finished fourteenth. The team competed at the 2006 ISF Women's World Championship in Beijing, China where they finished fifteenth. The team competed at the 2010 ISF Women's World Championship in Caracas, Venezuela where they finished fifteenth.
Philippines men's national softball team is the national team for the Philippines. The 1988 World Championships were held in Saskatoon, Canada. The team played 13 games in the round robin round. They finished eighth overall. The team competed at the 1992 ISF Men's World Championship in Manila, Philippines where they finished with 5 wins and 3 losses. The team competed at the 2000 ISF Men's World Championship in East London, South Africa where they finished tenth. The team competed at the 2004 ISF Men's World Championship in Christchurch, New Zealand where they finished tenth. The team competed at the 2009 ISF Men's World Championship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where they finished tenth. They would participate in most of the succeeding editions. However from 2009 to 2022, they maintained a losing streak in the competition until their 8–0 win over Denmark in 2022.
The 2018 Women's Softball World Championship was an international softball competition held in Chiba, Japan, from 2 August to 12 August. It was the 16th edition of the tournament, and the third edition to be sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). Previous editions were sanctioned by the International Softball Federation, which governed the sport until its 2013 merger with the International Baseball Federation to create the WBSC. As the winners, the United States earned the right to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics. It was the last world title awarded under the championship format before the WBSC implemented the new world cup 4 year cycle.
Six national teams qualified to compete in baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. As host, Japan automatically qualified. Israel also qualified, by winning the Africa/Europe Qualifying Event in September 2019.
Six teams qualified for the Olympic softball tournament, including Japan, which, as host nation, qualified automatically. The United States team won the 2018 Women's Softball World Championship to qualify for the Olympics. The remaining four spots were allocated through three qualification tournaments: one spot for a Europe/Africa tournament, one spot for an Asia/Oceania tournament, and two spots for an Americas tournament.
2024 Women's Softball World Cup 
United States (12th title)
