Each of the eight teams will feature 15 players, for a total of 240 athletes.

It will be the first time a men’s softball tournament will feature on the World Games programme since 1981.

The International World Games Association (IWGA) announced earlier this month that both men’s and women’s softball have been officially confirmed as medal disciplines for Chengdu 2025.

The decision was taken by the IWGA Executive Committee following a proposal by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).

"Following the great success of women's softball at The World Games 2022 and the Men's Softball World Cup last year, I am proud to see both disciplines included in the programme for The World Games 2025," WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari said.

"Softball has amazing athletes, and this news provides a further opportunity to showcase their great skillset and the best of our sport in the international softball calendar alongside our two-stage World Cups."

The confirmation of the two softball disciplines for Chengdu 2025, due to be held from August 7 to 17, follows the ratification of the sports programme of the 2025 World Games at the IWGA Annual General Meeting in Madrid.

Softball proved to be one of the most successful sports at last year’s World Games in Birmingham in Alabama.

A total of 11,449 tickets were sold for the tournament, including more than 10,000 for the final at the Hoover Met Stadium where the United States avenged their Olympic defeat the previous year in Tokyo by beating Japan to win the gold medal.

Baseball and softball were two of the 12 founding sports of the IWGA in 1980.

Softball was part of the World Games sports programme in the first two editions of the Games, at Santa Clara 1981 when both men and women featured, and London 1985 when only a women’s competition took place.

Birmingham 2022 was softball’s third appearance as a medal sport at the World Games.