Jeffrey Koo, Jr. elected Baseball Federation of Asia president

Taipei, July 3 (CNA) Owner of the Chinese Professional Baseball League's CTBC Brothers Jeffrey Koo, Jr. (辜仲諒) was elected president of the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) at the fourth Ordinary Congress of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in Taipei Sunday.

Koo, reelected chairman of the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association at the end of May, was unanimously voted the next BFA boss in an unopposed race after his Korean opponent dropped out.

The former CTBC Financial Holdings Co. executive is also vying for WBSC's top vice presidency in a vote scheduled for Monday.

With his election Sunday, Koo became the second Taiwanese BFA president, after incumbent President Tom Peng (彭誠浩), since the regional governing body was founded in 1954.

Koo said in a press release that he will aim to unite Asian baseball and elevate the quality of the sport across the continent.

The WBSC Ordinary Congress, which is being held in Taipei from June 3-5, was originally scheduled for November 2021 but postponed following concerns over an outbreak of COVID-19.

With pandemic border restrictions still in place, Taiwan's government has set up a special travel bubble for the 200-plus participants from more than 100 countries descending on Taipei for the congress.