For the first time a woman directs the destinies of the Pan American Baseball Confederation

The President of the Venezuelan Baseball Federation, Aracelis Léon, became the first woman to hold the presidency of the Pan American Baseball Confederation (COPABE).

With the election of León, a parenthesis was closed in this region that was prolonged by the COVID-19 pandemic, and by the lack of leadership after the premature death of the Dominican Héctor Tito Pereira, in May 2019.

In these last three years, former Nicaraguan player and manager Nemesio Porras has been in charge of COPABE on an interim basis.

Aracelis León led a single list of candidates in the elections held this Sunday in Barranquilla, Colombia. The new Executive Board received the unanimous vote of the 31 National Federations.

Shortly before boarding a plane that would take her to Caracas, Venezuela, León told Around The Rings this designation constitutes “a great responsibility” at a time when the main objective is “to continue working so baseball is once again in the Olympic Games.”

Baseball, like softball, was excluded from the Paris 2024 program by the organizers. Directors and practitioners of both disciplines are confident they will be taken into account for LA28 due to their popularity in the city and in the United States in general.

León recalled she was the first female general secretary in the Venezuelan Baseball Federation, and also the first to lead that entity since she was elected president in 2017, and re-elected for another four years from 2022 to 2026.

“I think this election could help continue to open doors for many more female leaders in the sport,” she said.

The president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the Italian Ricardo Fraccari, traveled expressly from Lausanne, Switzerland to the Colombian city to attend the historic election.

“Aracelis is a leader who has shown that she has achieved concrete things in her country and I think she will be very important for COPABE, together with her work team,” said Fraccari.

During the meeting, the celebration on July 4 in Taiwan of the postponed WBSC Congress was ratified. Fraccari is currently running unopposed for the presidency.

The Venezuelan is also a member of the WBSC Commission for Diversity and Inclusion.

The new Executive Board is completed with the vice presidents Ramón Crespo (Panama), Guillermo Barillas (Guatemala), and Juan Núñez (Dominican Republic); Secretary General Jorge Cabrera (El Salvador), and Treasurer José Quiles (Puerto Rico).

The list also includes members Juan Reynaldo Pérez (Cuba), Norge Núñez (Chile) and Alex Camacho (Bolivia).

Federations of countries with a baseball tradition and frequent organizers of international tournaments such as Mexico and the United States did not present applicants.

“This unit is the first step towards the success of the WBSC Americas project”, commented Léon who will serve until 2026.

The Venezuelan official is the sixth woman who is currently at the head of a continental sports organization.

She is preceded by Carol Callan (USA) president of FIBA Americas, Mauren Croes (Aruba), in the American Swimming Union, María Isabel Mancheno (Colombia) in the Pan American Water Ski Confederation, Noemí Chieko (Mexico) in the Pan American Water Ski Union Gymnastics and María Emma Gaviria (Colombia) at the Pan American Archery Confederation.

The president of the Venezuelan Olympic Committee, Eduardo Alvarez, also congratulated León when contacted by Around The Rings:

“I think it is an excellent choice, especially in a sport where the presence of the male gender has prevailed. She has been a great worker for baseball in America,” said Alvarez, who is preparing to stand for re-election to the COV in the postponed elections now set for May 18. Alvarez has led the COV since 2006.

The elections were originally scheduled for January 5, but a series of challenges culminated in the decision of the International Olympic Committee to suspend them and reschedule them in accordance with the rules of the Olympic Charter.

For that previous moment that was left in suspense, two applicant forms were presented since December, one with Eduardo Alvarez at the helm, and the other with the president of the Baseball Federation, Aracelis León.

Asked by ATR if she would run again in the COV presidential race, León declared:

“It is not among my priorities… Now we have this responsibility of COPABE. But let’s wait and see what happens with them. Hopefully a consensus is reached among all and that there can be a unity like what is happening in baseball in America”.