Africa Intercontinental Baseball League

An update on a non-profit project to embrace Africa's passion for the game

The Rundown

An update on key developments from the Africa Baseball Project

The legendary Sachel Paige was once quoted as saying, “don’t look back, something might be gaining on you.” At the Africa Baseball Project, there’s so much ahead of us. But with so much momentum surrounding our non-profit mission to bring organized youth, developmental and organized league baseball to the world’s second largest continent, we thought we’d take a breath…just for a moment…to look back.

So as we say on the diamond, let’s go around the horn!

How it started

The Africa Baseball Project (ABP) began in 2020 during Covid. It began with a phone call. Gift Ngoepe, the first African-born player to reach the Major Leagues, contacted Mario Signorello, and asked him to apply his decades of experience in professional and youth baseball to solve a problem.

Gift’s home continent has fallen in love with baseball, and kids there have the same dreams of playing the game that so many of today’s Baby Boomers and other generations in the United States had when they were young. But as was the case in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere two generations ago, you can only get so far when the ball is made of tape, and the glove is an old milk carton.

How its going

After 4 years of establishing essential infrastructure, relationships, and planning, there’s one critical step in front of us: funding. Once we have that in place, full-time operations for both the youth and professional leagues will begin immediately.

We are finalizing a full business plan and proposal for funding, but we are commencing the “crowdfunding” phase now, in time for year-end. This is a non-profit organization, so donations are 100% tax deductible.

An idea becomes an action plan

We have had several informal and formal discussions with people at Major League Baseball. It started with Mario meeting MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, who assigned Chris Marinak (Chief Operations and Strategy Officer) and Raymond Liu (Sr. VP of International Baseball) to take the conversation forward. Upon his request, we presented Mr. Liu with a list of African countries and affiliates we have relationships with, their number of participants and 10-year road map.

We also discussed the possibility of MLB sponsoring a one-day T-ball (ages 6-8) and Coach Pitch (ages 8-10) event, and re-igniting the Africa Elite player development camps MLB sponsored from 2011-2018. However, that proposal has yet to be addressed by MLB.

In addition, members of our board had initial meetings with the MLB Players Alliance, a group that receives significant funding from MLB which is intended to promote diversity in the game. The head of that group, 16-year MLB veteran Curtis Granderson told Gift Ngoepe they would sponsor African Continental Baseball League (ACBL) uniforms.

Our colleague and 10-year MLB veteran Derrick May contacted the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA) about conducting playing and coaching clinics in Africa. Mario spoke to Clinic Coordinator Diego McCollum about potentially beginning in April, 2025, provided it is approved within their budget.

The Japan-Africa Baseball & Softball Foundation (J-ABS) is a non-profit organization who offers programs and resource development. They are now part of our expanding global circle.

A league of their own: The Africa Continental Baseball League (ACBL)

This ABP initiative is central to our short-term and long-term plans, as it provides a recognizable and competitive format for donors, fans and players alike. It also represents an important motivator for aspiring African youth, who will see it as a pathway to convert their skills into opportunities that previous generations on the continent did not have.

The league is ready to launch in 8 cities spanning 7 countries, playing games over 3 consecutive weekends. Four teams will host the first weekend, the other four the next, then all teams will gather in Johannesburg, South Africa for a knockout-style tournament and skills showcase.

18-player rosters will be constructed to include 9 from the host team country, while 6 more can be from another African country. The final 3 roster spots can be filled by players from outside Africa, including 1 top-level player (MLB or Japanese league), 1 Minor League player, and 1 college player.

The house that youth built! (and you can keep building with them)

These are the 8 Ballparks of the ACBL

Mending fences

Our organization is so thankful for proactive supporters like Orlando Rodriguez. “O-Rod” is a supporter of Mario’s longtime Caribbean Baseball Organization (CBO) and came to use through Albert Frimkong of Ghana, who is also the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) President for Africa.

Burkina Faso is a southwest African nation that is home to 21 million people and one of the least developed countries in the world. But guess what? THEY LOVE PLAYING BASEBALL! The country has sent 6 of its native citizens to play in Japan’s minor leagues. They were given $87,500 by the Japanese Embassy to build a ballpark and ran out of money for the outfield fence ($9,000). Orlando’s idea: find 90 people to donate $100 each. Approximately 50 have pledged to date.

We welcome you to join them. Because while Fenway Park has survived for 113 years with just a 3-foot high wall in right field, we have a different plan for Burkina Faso!

This is one of many opportunities we will have in 2025 for anyone with a love for the game, a soft spot in their heart, and the resources to give at whatever level is comfortable for them.