CTBA Chairman Jeffrey Koo, Jr. Elected New President of Baseball Federation of Asia

TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 4th World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) Congress was held from July 3 to 5, 2022, at the Taipei Marriott Hotel, and was attended by over 200 delegates from 138 countries. During the event, Chairman Jeffrey J.L. Koo, Jr. of the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) was elected as the BFA president with the support of representatives from member countries such as Japan and China.

When Jeffrey L.S. Koo, the founder of CTBC Bank, served as the Ambassador-at-large of the Republic of China, he established friendships with others through golf in the international arena. Inheriting this spirit, Chairman Jeffrey J.L. Koo, Jr. has been augmenting Taiwan's international visibility through international baseball exchanges while consolidating Taiwan’s core position in the baseball world.

In his victory speech, Koo expressed gratitude to his supporters and pledged to bring Asia’s baseball to the next level. He also vowed to unite the member countries to “be strong as one, as a family.”

The newly elected BFA president specially thanked his predecessor, Tom C.H. Peng, for encouraging him to join the world of Asian baseball. Koo said that Peng has been the man behind the scenes, taking a more active role in striving for the opportunity for Taiwan to host many international baseball events.

Koo pointed out that while most of the sports events across the world were suspended more than a year ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan was one of the few countries to hold live baseball games, which indicates that baseball is not only the national sport that Taiwanese people are proud of but also an indispensable entertainment for the public.

The U-12 Baseball World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Taiwan’s Tainan City at the end of July, is his top priority upon taking office, Koo added. He said that his first important task is to transform the U-12 Baseball World Cup into the most popular international baseball tournament for baseball fans around the world. He believes that BFA will always be a trustworthy partner of WBCS and will set up effective channels for communication and collaboration among countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Oceania to build a brighter future for baseball in Asia.