Cuba denounces discriminatory treatment of Cuban baseball players

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 23 (ACN) The Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) denounced today the discriminatory treatment to which Cuban baseball players and the national team are subjected by the license granted by the United States Government to the organizers of the 5th World Baseball Classic.

The statement reflects that the license granted by the U.S. Government to the organizers of the 5th World Baseball Classic for athletes of Cuban origin, with residence in that country, to be part of the Cuban team in this important event, forbids those athletes, whether from MLB or not, to travel to Cuba to participate in any action related to the event.

This was officially informed to the Cuban Baseball Federation by the organizers of that event, to be held from March 8 to 21, 2023.

This provision includes not only the current training phase that takes place in Cuba, but also the time after the competition, which means that they would not even be able to celebrate with their teammates and fans, in the event that our team wins the 5th Classic.

In addition, valid for all MLB circuit players, regardless of the country they play for, is that none of the athletes subject to the license may participate in training and pre-competition preparation games that the Cuban national team plans to develop abroad.
They will only join the team on March 3, just five days before the start of the competition. In the specific case of Cuba, the restriction extends to all athletes with legal residence in the United States, even if they do not belong to the MLB circuit, according to the license granted by the U.S. government.

The FCB strongly denounces this discriminatory treatment to which Cuban ballplayers and the national team are subjected, victims of irrational and politically motivated prohibitions, consistent with the hostile policy of the United States against Cuba and far removed from the essence of the sport, and its healthy and constructive enjoyment.

The FCB reiterates its commitment to continue working with the objective of representing its people with dignity at the 5th World Baseball Classic.