The two-game series, hosted by Nippon Professional Baseball at the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome on March 10 and 11, will see the first ever baseball team representing Europe making its debut against world number one ranked Samurai Japan.

The Eurosport 2 coverage of the event means it will be aired to 73 million households in 18 languages across 51 countries on all broadcast platforms, including on the internet and mobile devices.

"The WBSC is proud to partner with an industry leader like Eurosport and showcase this exciting new international baseball competition, the new Europe baseball brand, and its athletes to audiences across Europe," said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari.

"This is a major milestone that helps to mark baseball's evolution and appeal as a global sport."

Former Major League Baseball star Andruw Jones has been named on Team Europe
©Getty Images


He added that the deal highlights baseball and softball's "increasing popularity" as the sports continue their campaign to make it back onto the Olympic Games programme after they were dropped following Beijing 2008.

Team Europe, which is coached by Dutch and Italian team managers, features 15 Dutch players, including 10-time Major League Baseball Gold Glove winner Andruw Jones, six Italians, and athletes from France, Germany and Spain.

Samurai Japan will no doubt use the series as a preparation for the inaugural WBSC Premier 12, with the Tokyo Dome set to host the semi-finals and finals of the event this November.

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