Softball at the first edition of the Junior Pan American Games will take place in Barranquilla ©Getty Images

Hosts Colombia will begin the softball tournament at the inaugural Junior Pan American Games with a clash against Peru, after the schedule for the competition was confirmed.

The home side's Group A encounter is due to be the last of four games on November 27 - two days after the Opening Ceremony.

Although the host city for the Games is Cali, baseball and softball will be played at the Estadio de Sóftbol Edgardo Schemel in Barranquilla, more than 700 miles to the north.

United States, the top-ranked team in the tournament, will open the event with their Group A clash against Argentina.

The first day of play will also feature Group B games between Puerto Rico and Venezuela and Mexico and Brazil.

After the opening stage, the top two sides in each group will advance to the super round.

The softball tournament will begin with a round robin stage ©WBSC
The softball tournament will begin with a round robin stage ©WBSC

The winners of the event will qualify their country for the senior Pan American Games in Santiago in Chile in 2023.

Women's softball was the last sport to be added to the Cali 2021 programme in March.

The Games were originally scheduled to begin in June, and then September, but two postponements were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Players in the softball event must be aged between 16 and 19.

Colombia, the US, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Peru will all travel to the Under-18 Women's Softball World cup in Lima after the Games.

The event in Peru's capital is scheduled from between December 6 and 12.