DECISION 2016: Softball stands firm on chances of 2016 Olympic recall

EVERY day this week, we'll be hearing from the seven sports who are campaigning for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games. We've heard from baseball, golf, karate, roller sports and rugby sevens - today softball states their case.

THE LAST CHAMPIONS? Yukiko Ueno, number 17, and her teammates celebrate Japan's 3-1 win against the United States after the gold medal match at last year's Beijing Olympics

Next week, the IOC's Executive Board meet in Berlin to trim their shortlist of seven down to two.

Those sports will then require a simple majority of the IOC's 108-strong voting membership to gain prized Olympic status in Denmark later this year.

Tomorrow, we'll hear the case squash and next week there will be full coverage of the vote and reaction from the sports that made the cut - and those that missed out.

And you can have your say, vote in our poll or leave a comment.

 LAST year's softball competition at the Olympics in Beijing was a huge success.

CAMPAIGN: Medallists from last year's Olympics made a united stand to call for Softball's Olympic return in 2016 (Getty Images)

Crowds nearing 180,000 enjoyed an atmosphere that embodied Olympic values, with Japan winning an exciting gold medal game with a dramatic victory over the USA.

Back in Japan, the game became NHK's highest rated Olympic broadcast, other than the opening ceremony, underlining softball's progress in recent years.

When softball was voted off the programme for the London 2012 Olympics it was a wake-up call for the sport.

Since that day in Singapore in 2005, the International Softball Federation (ISF) and its 127 national federations have undertaken a radical review to ensure the sport is in the best possible position to be voted back onto the Olympic programme for 2016.

As part of its commitment to promote the sport worldwide, the ISF has sent equipment valued at over 2.7 million US dollars to more than 95 countries since 2002, providing opportunities for more young people to play softball.

There has been a particular focus on youth and women worldwide, especially in Muslim countries where team sports are not usually accessible to women.

The ISF's development projects also include softball clinics, including being long-standing supporters of Generations For Peace, which uses sport as a tool to promote peace among young people in troubled areas around the world.

Following an African Softball Forum in April, the ISF, the International University Sports Federation and the African Students Sports Union announced a 100,000 US Dollar development fund for youth in Africa.

Regional training centres in the USA, Russia, Italy and Santo Domingo increase softball's accessibility globally.

There are plans to open a new regional training centre in Beijing to tap into China's tremendous enthusiasm and popularity for the sport.

Led by retired two-time Olympic gold medallist Michele Smith, athlete ambassadors have been working with ISF President Don Porter and Back Softball Task Force co-chairs Donna de Varona and Dale McMann to promote softball and talk to the international sports community about BackSoftball's campaign.

Apart from softball's international development, the ambassadors talk of the Olympics as the pinnacle for softball players and its exemplary drug-free record at elite level.

For softball, inclusion in the Olympics is the catalyst for further sustainable global growth, which will demonstrate the power of the Games.

With more and more people taking up softball, the ISF believes the sport will be enriched by its inclusion in the Olympics and that softball will continue to enrich the Olympic movement.

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