The African qualifiers were supposed to be staged this weekend in Gaborone. But they have been cancelled after only Zimbabwe confirmed participation. Botswana Softball Association (BSA) president Marumo Morule said that initially, Lesotho had promised to honour the qualifiers but nothing has been heard from the tiny mountainous kingdom with only a few days before the competition date. He said it would not make sense for two countries to compete for two slots. "It automatically means both of countries have qualified," said Morule who doubles as Africa Softball Confederation (ASC) president. He said the weekend meeting would either decide that Africa does not take part in the World Cup or confirm Zimbabwe and Botswana as the qualifiers.
"There is no possibility for qualifiers after the meeting because it is already late and countries that have qualified should register for the World Cup," he explained. He added that a country can qualify for the World Cup without going through qualifiers. "Yes, it is allowed. Although it is not a desirable situation, it has happened with some countries before," he explained.
