Havana, February 1 (JIT) - Seven teams will host the 66th Caribbean Baseball Series 2024 in Miami from February 1 to 9, a tournament to which Cuba was not invited.

Six teams will try to snatch the title from the Tigres del Licey, who reigned again in their country this season and will therefore defend their crown.

The game will be played at Loan Depot Park, the home of the Miami Marlins, the first Major League Baseball venue in the United States to host the tournament.

The Caribbean Series has not been played in a country without a participating team since 1991, when it was also played in the so-called City of the Sun.

The champions of the leagues of Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Panama, Curacao and Nicaragua, the first three full members of the CBPC, will challenge the Dominicans. The big absentees this time will be Colombia and Cuba.

The largest of the Antilles did not receive an invitation, something expected taking into account the last experiences of Cuban teams in the state of Florida for the pre-Olympic tournament in 2021 and the V World Baseball Classic in 2023.

On those occasions, the organizers could not avoid grotesque provocations and aggressions against Cuban baseball players and federation members in the host stadiums, motivated by political reasons.

Cuban sports authorities stated on both occasions that Miami does not meet the conditions to host international events in adherence to fair play and respect for the values of international sport.

The Cuban Baseball and Softball Federation has expressed the intention to return to the Caribbean series and a window opens in 2025, when the event will touch Mexico.After the return of the Island to these concerts, which occurred in 2014, the Vegueros of Pinar del Rio reigned in 2015.TEAMS PARTICIPATING IN MIAMI 2024Tigres del Licey (Dominican Republic), Tiburones de La Guaira (Venezuela), Criollos de Caguas (Puerto Rico), Naranjeros de Hermosillo (Mexico), Federales de Chiriquí (Panama), Curacao Suns (Curacao) and Gigantes de Rivas (Nicaragua).