The combined ESF/CEB Congress will be held on February 4 in Belgrade, Serbia. The main issue for the elections is the applicant for the executive board of the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB). While the candidate on the President position for the executive board of the European Softball Federation (ESF) is basically known with Gabriel Waage from the Czech Republic.

Didier Seminet (France) are looking to become the new chair for the new executive board of governing body for European Baseball. He was so kind to answer a couple of questions about various topics. These are the questions and answers:

Please introduce yourself to the audience.

My name is Didier Seminet. I’m the President of the French Baseball & Softball Federation since 2010 and co-founder and President of the Association Francophone de Baseball et Softball since 2014. I’ve been involved in Baseball & Softball for a long time, first as a player then as a leader or various baseball/softball organizations.  I am 50 years old, have one daughter and am leading a company specialized in safety coordination.

What qualifies you to become President of the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB)?

I think I have the leadership that is needed for the future of European Baseball & Softball. Under my presidency the French Baseball & Softball Federation has thrived, growing from 8,500 to 12,675 players while its budget rose from 850k€ to 1,4M€. I guess the figures speak for themselves.

If you’re getting elected, what will be your program for the first year in office?

I think that the first step is to work on combining of the Confederation of European Baseball and the European Softball Federation and get to know every National Federation to understand their needs

There have been talks between CEB and the European Softball Federation (ESF) about a merger for some time. Would you be interested in bringing CEB and ESF together? If yes, what would be the advantages and what will be your measurements to make this happen?

Of course, that was the first topic I talked about when I launched my blog (www.europeanbaseballsoftball.org) in December 2016. Maybe it seems obvious to me because I come from a combined Federation. Baseball and Softball are like brother and sister,they need to work together. Most of the European Federations are combined, the International Federation is, it’s just the natural order to head towards a joint “European Baseball & Softball Confederation”.

The Euro League Baseball (ELB) was established last year to bring professional baseball to Europe. However, it was done without sanctioning of CEB. Will you be talking to the organizers to bring the   ELB into CEB? Is a real professional league a possibility?

 A professional league is a possibility for European Baseball. This is something that needs to be discussed within the new CEB board first but I’m willing to discuss opportunities and options with EBL stakeholders.

What will be your steps during your term to increase the number of baseball players in Europe?

 We need to work on the development of National Federations through a funding programme as well as on growing the interest of fans, media and sponsors through great and marketable events

What would be on your agenda to increase the visibility of European baseball competitions?

I think that video recording and broadcasting of our flagships events is a start to increase fan, media and sponsors interest. We need to spend time, energy and resources on promotion which is a key issue of the development of the game in Europe.

The CEB offices are currently in Zagreb, Croatia. Will they stay there or do you propose a change?

There is no plan to move the office.

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