Havana, Sept 27 (ACN) - The Cuban baseball team for the blind debuts this Friday in the second version of the World Cup, which will be held until next Sunday in the English city of Slough.

The Antilleans will face in their first outing, the reigning champion Italy and, on the same day, they will play against the Netherlands, hosts of the first edition of 2022 and fifth place on that occasion.

On Saturday, they will face debutants China to conclude the group stage and if they manage to place among the top two in their section, they will qualify for the semifinals to be played on the same day.

According to the rules of the competition, the second qualified team of one group will face the first place of the other, the winners will fight on Sunday for the gold medal and the losers for the bronze medal.

In the other group were placed the teams of Hungary, Pakistan, the United States and the British hosts, runners-up in 2022.

The participation of the team representing the largest island in the Caribbean is possible thanks to the National Association of Italy-Cuba Friendship (Anaic), an entity that made a financial donation to cover the purchase of air tickets.

Organized by the British Baseball Federation, the cup aims to provide a platform for visually impaired athletes to showcase their talent at the highest level.

The official ball of the event will be a ProA Rubber ball, suitably modified with five 16 millimeter holes and one 18 millimeter hole, eccentrically placed with two 24 x 21 millimeter nickel-plated brass bells.

Players may use any baseball or softball bat made of wood, aluminum or composite approved by the World Baseball and Softball Confederation and the rules are based on the manual, published in English and Spanish by the organizers.