A league of their own

'It's about time'

It sounds like a pretty wild ambition, given the lack of facilities and baseball's modest public profile across China, but it's time to give it a try, said Chung Chun-hao, operating director of Coolbang.

"With Chinese teams doing better on the international stage in recent years, drawing more attention from fans and potential investors, we believe it's about time," Chung, a native of Chinese Taipei, which will compete at next year's World Baseball Classic, told China Daily in Shenzhen last week.

"We are not yet ready (for the home-and-away format), but it's the goal in the next three years, beginning with makeshift facilities in each city, before developing larger-scale venues.

"We're not expecting to make decent revenue right away, but with the commitment from our investors and club owners, we will try to develop a sustainable commercial model around ticketing, broadcasting, sponsorship and club merchandising."

As a sign of the national program's improving talent development, the Chinese men's team finished fourth at the World Baseball and Softball Confederation's (WBSC) U23 World Cup in September last year, achieving the best result of any Chinese squad at the international level across all age categories.

The just-concluded 2025 National Games also saw sell-out baseball games featuring the host Guangdong team at Zhongshan field, with plenty of spectators traveling from Hong Kong and Macao to root for their own sides.

The sport's governing body is counting on the CPB league to pick up that baton.

"The CPB league was born at the right time, benefiting from the National Games momentum and the shared passion of baseball enthusiasts," said Xie Bin, a vice-chairman of the Chinese Baseball Association.

"Building on this advantage, we expect the league to flourish step by step, first by growing awareness of the sport in the short term, with the long-term ambition of helping us narrow the gap with international powerhouses and pave a sustainable path for baseball development in China."