Don Porter, President of the International Softball Federation, has been approached by baseball leaders proposing that the two sports work together in a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
But The Associated Press reports instead of a joint bid they may have to bid under one umbrella.
Porter and the International Softball Federation (ISF) have asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to clarify how it will decide which sports get into the 2020 program and whether softball and baseball would have to unite under one governing body to get in if only one sport will be added.
In an interview with The Associated Press Porter said, “first of all, we need to determine can we do this? Is the IOC going to allow us to be able to do this. Would they support it, or what?”
Porter said he had several meetings with the International Baseball Federation (IBF) in recent months to figure out how a joint bid would work.
Porter and other softball leaders had previously tried to distance the sport from baseball despite the obvious similarities in basic game play, reports The Associated Press.
IBF President Riccardo Fraccari said that his sport has ramped up its anti-doping program with 19,000 tests recently, and is looking for solutions to get major league players involved.
He said, I hope he (Porter) understands that a union is the only solution for the Olympics. The IOC is going to consider adding only one sport in 2013 and we can both get in with baseball for men and softball for women. I’m very positive about this union”.
