Little League World Series in Europe

Europe first participated in the Little League World Series in 1960. Teams from Europe were given a berth in the LLWS each year between 1960 and 2001 (with the exception of the temporary ban of international teams in 1975). In 2001, the region was split into a co-terminus Europe (later EMEA) and Transatlantic region. The Europe region comprised mostly native European teams while the Transatlantic region comprised mostly American expatriates. This distinction was eliminated for the 2008 Little League World Series; teams made up of either native Europeans or American expatriates are eligible to qualify from the European region.

Starting with the 2013 LLWS, the region was renamed the Europe and Africa Region. African countries were added as a result of a major reorganization of the international (non-U.S.) regions. This move was triggered by Little League's announcement that Australia would receive its own LLWS berth starting in 2013. Two Middle Eastern countries, Israel and Turkey, have been part of European regions since they instituted Little League programs, as they are members of the European zone of the International Baseball Federation; they remained in the renamed Europe and Africa Region.[1]

No team from the European region has ever reached the final of the Little League World Series. The best finishes for a European team occurred in 1979, 1993 and 1994, when European teams reached the semifinals. Aviano, Italy, made it that far - in the 8 team format - in 1979. Kaiserslautern, Germany and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) made the International final in back-to-back years in 1993 and 1994.

European champions (1960–2000)

YearChampionCityLLWSRecord
1960Berlin Command LLWest Germany BerlinSixth Place12
1961Pirmasens Housing Area LLWest Germany PirmasensEighth Place03
1962Poitiers Post LLFrance PoitiersSixth Place12
1963İzmir LLTurkey İzmirFourth Place02
1964Wiesbaden LLWest Germany Wiesbaden Army AirfieldEighth Place03
1965Rota LLSpain RotaEighth Place03
1966Rhein-Main LLWest Germany Rhein-Main Air BaseSeventh Place12
1967Rota LLSpain RotaSeventh Place (tie)02
1968Wiesbaden LLWest Germany Wiesbaden Army AirfieldEighth Place03
1969Wiesbaden LLWest Germany Wiesbaden Army AirfieldSixth Place12
1970Wiesbaden LLWest Germany Wiesbaden Army AirfieldSixth Place12
1971Madrid LLSpain MadridFourth Place12
1972Torrejon Air Base LLSpain MadridEighth Place03
1973Bitburg AB LLWest Germany Bitburg Air BaseSeventh Place12
1974Athena Airport LLGreece AthensEighth Place03
1975No participant
1976Kaiserslautern LLWest Germany KaiserslauternSixth Place12
1977Torrejon Air Base LLSpain MadridSeventh Place12
1978Torrejon Air Base LLSpain MadridEighth Place03
1979Aviano Air Base LLItaly AvianoFourth Place12
1980Torrejon Air Base LLSpain MadridEighth Place03
1981SHAPE LLBelgium WaterlooEighth Place03
1982Torrejon Air Base LLSpain MadridFifth Place21
1983Arabian Gulf LLSaudi Arabia Al KhobarSeventh Place12
1984Brussels Sports Association LLBelgium BrusselsSeventh Place12
1985Arabian Gulf LLSaudi Arabia Al KhobarEighth Place03
1986Torrejon Air Base LLSpain MadridEighth Place03
1987Aramco LLSaudi Arabia DhahranFifth Place (tie)11
1988Aramco LLSaudi Arabia DhahranFifth Place21
1989Aramco LLSaudi Arabia DhahranSixth Place12
1990Falcon LLWest Germany Ramstein Air BaseSeventh Place (tie)02
1991Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia DhahranEighth Place 03
1992Kaiserslautern LLGermany Kaiserslautern4th Place, Group Stage03
1993Kaiserslautern LLGermany KaiserslauternThird Place (tie)22
1994Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia DhahranThird Place (tie)22
1995Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia Dhahran3rd Place, Group Stage12
1996Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia Dhahran4th Place, Group Stage03
1997Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia Dhahran3rd Place, Group Stage12
1998Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia Dhahran3rd Place, Group Stage12
1999Ramstein American LLGermany Ramstein Air Base4th Place, Group Stage03
2000Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia Dhahran3rd Place, Group Stage12

Europe/Europe, Middle East & Africa Region (2001–2006)

In 2001, with the LLWS expanding to sixteen teams, the European region split into two co-terminous regions. The Europe region consisted of teams that were primarily made up of players native to each country; no team could have more than three players from the United States, Canada, or Japan. The Europe region was named the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region between 2004 and 2007; however, no Middle Eastern or African team participated in qualifiers for the EMEA Series berth (although Kenya sent a team to the European qualifier in 2001[2] and South Africa did the same in 2003[3]). In 2008, Little League removed the native players rule and split the EMEA and Transatlantic region into the Europe and Middle East Africa regions. The following teams represented the European region after 2001:

YearChampionCityLLWSRecord
2001Khovrino LLRussia Moscow4th place, Pool D0–3
2002Khovrino LLRussia Moscow4th place, Pool D0–3
2003Khovrino LLRussia Moscow3rd place, Pool D1–2
2004Kutno LLPoland Kutno4th place, Pool C0–3
2005Brateevo LLRussia Moscow4th place, Pool C0–3
2006Brateevo LLRussia Moscow4th place, Pool D0–3
2007Windmills LLNetherlands Apeldoorn4th place, Pool D0–3

Transatlantic Region (2001–2007)

The Transatlantic region encompassed the same territory as the Europe/EMEA region, but consisted of teams that were made up of at least 51% American, Canadian, or Japanese citizens.

Regional championship

Below are the champions of the Transatlantic region, along with participants for each year. The year's winner is indicated in green.

Year AustriaAustria BelgiumBelgium EnglandEngland GermanyGermany ItalyItaly NetherlandsNetherlands Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia SpainSpain United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates
2001 Vienna LL
Vienna
Belgium Int'l LL
Brussels
London Area Youth LL
London
Eifel LL
Bitburg/Spangdahlem
Naples LL
Naples
No Participant Arabian American LL
Dhahran
Rota LL
Rota
No Participant
2002 N/A
Austria
N/A
Belgium
N/A
England
N/A
Germany
N/A
Italy
N/A
Netherlands
Arabian American LL
Dharhan
N/A
Spain
No Participant
2003 AIBC Little League
Vienna
SHAPE and Waterloo LL
Brussels
London Area Youth
London
Ramstein LL
Ramstein
Naples LL
Naples
Brunssum/Schinnen LL
Brunssum
Arabian American LL
Dharhan
Rota LL
Rota
No Participant
2004 No Participant SHAPE and Waterloo LL
Brussels
London Area Youth
London
Ramstein American LL
Ramstein
Naples LL
Naples
Geilenkirchen-American/Brunssum/Schinnen LL
Brunssum/Geilenkirchen
Arabian American LL
Dharhan
Madrid LL
Madrid
No Participant
2005 No Participant SHAPE and Brussels LL
Brussels
East Anglia LL
Suffolk
Ramstein LL
Ramstein
Naples LL
Naples
Brunssum/Schinnen LL
Brunssum
Arabian American LL
Dharhan
Rota LL
Rota
No Participant
2006 No Participant SHAPE and Waterloo LL
Brussels
London Area Youth LL
London
Ramstein LL
Ramstein
Naples LL
Naples
No Participant Arabian American LL
Dharhan
No Participant Dubai LL
Dubai
2007 No Participant No Participant London Area Youth LL
London
Stuttgart American LL
Stuttgart
Naples LL
Naples
No Participant Arabian American LL
Dharhan
No Participant Dubai LL
Dubai

LLWS performance

YearChampionCityLLWSRecord
2001Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia Dhahran3rd place, Pool C1–2
2002Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia Dhahran3rd place, Pool C2–1
2003Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia Dhahran3rd place, Pool C1–2
2004Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia Dhahran3rd place, Pool D1–2
2005Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia Dhahran4th place, Pool D0–3
2006Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia DhahranInt'l Semifinal2–2
2007Arabian American LLSaudi Arabia Dhahran4th place, Pool C0–2

Europe Region (2008–2012)

From 2008 to 2012, Europe had its own region.

YearChampionCityLLWSRecord
2008Emilia LLItaly Emilia4th place, Pool C0–3
2009KMC American LLGermany Kaiserslautern4th place, Pool D0–3
2010KMC American LLGermany Ramstein ABGroup Stage1–2
2011Rotterdam LLNetherlands RotterdamRound 10–3
2012KMC American LLGermany Ramstein ABRound 10–3

Europe and Africa Region (2013–)

As noted above, the Europe Region was expanded to include Africa in 2013. Results are as of the 2015 Little League World Series.

YearChampionCityLLWSRecord
2013South Moravia LLCzech Republic BrnoRound 11–2
2014South Moravia LLCzech Republic BrnoRound 10–3
2015AVRS Secondary School LLUganda KampalaRound 21–2

By country

Table includes results from Europe, EMEA, Transatlantic and Europe and Africa regions through the 2015 Little League World Series. Italics indicates team is no longer a part of European region.

CountryEuropean
Championships
Record
in LLWS
PCT
 Saudi Arabia 1818–39.316
Germany West Germany/Germany 169–39.188
 Spain 94–22.154
 Russia 51–14.067
 Belgium 21–5.167
 Czech Republic 21–5.167
 Italy 21–5.167
 Netherlands 20–6.000
 France 11–2.333
 Uganda 11–2.333
 Turkey 10–2.000
 Greece 10–3.000
 Poland 10–3.000
Total6137–147.201

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, February 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.