The Cuban Baseball and Softball Federation (FCBS) and the accredited press attended a preliminary meeting at the Latin American Stadium in Havana on February 25, where some guidelines for the island's national sport were revealed, beginning with the launch of the third edition of the Cuban Elite Baseball League (LEBC) on March 15, 2025.
The FCBS president, Mr. Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, chaired the meeting, according to José Luis López of the digital sports newspaper Jit. In addition to announcing the changes in the salaries of players and coaches for the aforementioned tournament, Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo announced the official launch of the III Elite League calendar.
As part of the preparation for the tournament, a preparatory session will be held between March 3 and 6 for coaches, directors and all those responsible for running the event, including statisticians. The tournament's Technical Congress will be held on March 7th, where the tournament's regulations and schedule will be approved.
Precisely and according to the schedule presented, the opening date will see the six teams involved in the tournament in action, with the Pinar del Río-Industriales, Las Tunas-Ciego de Ávila and Granma-Santiago de Cuba duels, always with the first teams mentioned as the home venues for the four-match series.
During the second series of the tournament, from March 20th to 23rd, the Latinoamericano stadium will host Granma versus Industriales, while the José Ramón Cepero stadium will host Ciego de Ávila against Pinar del Río. With the third series in full swing, all stadiums hosting participating teams will have seen action, as Santiago de Cuba will host Ciego de Ávila at the Guillermón Moncada stadium.
There will be a peculiarity to the regular schedule for the tournament this year: the Las Tunas team, champions in the last 63rd National Series, will participate in the II Champions League tournament on April 8 and 12 in Mexico City, Mexico. In addition to the team stopping playing three tournament series, the team will be bolstered by players from other Elite League teams.
As a result of Las Tunas' participation in the II Champions League, the III Elite League has been extended until May 16, when the Woodcutters (Las Tunas) must play three series to complete their regular season.
A home game will be held at the Julio A. Cepero stadium from May 4 to 7, followed by one at the Guillermón Moncada against Santiago de Cuba from May 9 to 12, and the final at the Jose R. Cepero stadium from May 13 to 16. Upon receiving Granma, they will conclude the qualifying process of the competition.
During the qualifying stage, the top four teams will advance to the postseason, which, as always, will be announced before it begins.
Who will win the III LEBC?
0%Santiago de Cuba
0%Ciego de Ávila
0%Industriales
0%Pinar del Río
The winner of this edition of the Elite League will represent Cuba at the second Series of the Americas in 2026, as well as the Caribbean Series if Cuba is officially invited.
Luis Daniel del Risco, treasurer of the FCBS, mentioned that the following salary increases will be given to participants in the upcoming tournament:
Players: 5000 pesos
Managers: 3000 pesos
Coaches: 2000 pesos
The 64th National Series, which will be played this year, will also receive the same differentiated salary treatment.
Finally, Carlos Martín, director of the III LEBC, explained that everything is expected to be ready for the start of the tournament, following a thorough inspection of the stadiums of the participating teams by the board of directors of this tournament, in addition to providing suggestions and indications before it started.
In Cuba, the Elite League is the most selective baseball national tournament, and it aims to bring together the highest quality players in order to raise the level of competition and to make a better selection of players for international tournaments.
It was first held in 2022 and was won by the Agricultores team, with a large representation of players from Las Tunas, in a tournament that was criticized for the composition of its teams. The biggest change for the second edition, in 2023, was the classification of the teams that would take part, using the previous edition of the National Series as a qualifying event. This second edition of the LEBC was won by Matanzas, a great absentee from the III LEBC.
