Havana, 19 May 2021. The Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) reported today that the delegation that must attend the Pre-Olympic of the Americas does not yet have the visas to enter the United States.
The organization reiterated in its Twitter account that it is the responsibility of the Government of Washington, as the host country, to guarantee this process, while at the same time ratifying "the commitment to our people to compete to reach the Olympic classification, as is their right."
Last Monday, the FCB announced that the team still did not have the necessary documentation to make the trip to the North American nation, and thus denied rumors that from the United States indicated that its members had already collected their visas in Havana.
Likewise, Luis Daniel Del Risco, current treasurer of the FCB, told the press in this capital that variants were sought in other countries but without satisfactory results.
'It was searched in Mexico, it was searched in Panama, we tried to do it (the procedure) in Guyana,' said the official, who, together with Vice President Yosvani Aragón, remains at the helm of the FCB after the death the previous week of its head Higinio Vélez, due to complications derived from Covid-19.
The selection currently being prepared in Havana under the command of manager Armando Ferrer plans to carry out two preparation stops prior to the competition, on May 27 against the Dominican Republic and two days later against Nicaragua.
Cuba's official action will begin on Monday, May 31, against Venezuela in the city of West Palm Beach, where it will appear again on June 2 against Colombia, after taking on Canada the day before in the town of Port St. Lucie.
The Pre-Olympic in the state of Florida will award its winner the only ticket in dispute to the event under the five rings of the Japanese capital, where the hosts are already waiting, along with Mexico, South Korea and Israel.
Meanwhile, second and third place will have a new opportunity in the China Tapei Final Qualifier, to be played a week later, with the presence also of the local ninth, Australia, the Netherlands and China.
However, the celebration of that last competition is at risk given the increase in cases of Covid-19 in that Asian territory, which led the Professional Baseball League of that nation (CPBL, for its acronym in English) to suspend its schedule until the situation improves.
Source: Prensa Latina