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The Cuban Baseball and Softball Federation (FCBS) announced on Monday the celebration of the IV Elite League of Cuban Baseball, which will kick off on May 2 amidst one of the worst economic and energy crises the island is currently facing.
The tournament, which will run until July 10, will feature the six teams that qualified in the previous 64th National Series: Las Tunas, Matanzas, Industriales, Mayabeque, Artemisa, and Holguín.
In its official statement published on the JIT website, the FCBS explicitly acknowledged the difficult context faced by the country, attributing it to the U.S. embargo and what it referred to as an "energy blockade": "Despite the situation that the country is experiencing due to the intensification of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade by the United States government, and the energy blockade which aims to strangle an entire nation, baseball returns to the stadiums, to homes, and to the hearts of every Cuban."
The reality is that Cuba has been engulfed in a structural crisis for years, caused by six decades of communist dictatorship, with blackouts during the 64th National Series reaching up to 20 hours daily and electrical deficits of up to 1,969 megawatts.
The qualifying stage will take place between May 2 and June 19, with 40 games per team in series of four matches, all scheduled for two in the afternoon.
The top four teams will advance to the semifinals, scheduled from June 21 to June 30, played in a best-of-seven format. The final will take place from July 2 to July 10, also using the same format.
Each team will have 20 base players and can add up to seven reinforcements from a pool created by the FCBS itself. This Tuesday, the reinforcement selection was held at 10 in the morning, alongside a preliminary technical meeting.
Cuban baseball is also experiencing a historic exodus of talent: nearly 40 prospects signed contracts with Major League Baseball in 2025, and in March of this year player Esteban Terry defected in Mexico during an international tournament.
Cuba was also eliminated in the first round of the World Baseball Classic 2026, unable to include Major League stars like Yandy Díaz, Yordan Álvarez, and Luis Robert Jr.
La Liga Élite was created in 2022 as a mechanism to maintain high-level baseball on the island and select the representative for the Caribbean Series. The III edition, held in 2025 also amidst widespread blackouts, was won by the Tigres de Ciego de Ávila, who represented Cuba in the 2026 Caribbean Series in Caracas.
Despite the challenging situation, the FCBS justified the tournament despite the adverse economic landscape by appealing to national identity: "Because of what baseball represents in the Cuban popular imagination, due to its ties to cultural roots and national identity, and because it is a demand from the people, starting on May 2, Cuba will launch the IV Elite Baseball League."
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