TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — To commemorate Taiwan’s victory in the 2024 Premier12 baseball tournament, a commemorative “Global Champions” EasyCard was offered through a five-day pre-sale event, with 260,000 cards purchased.
As a result of the sale, EasyCard will donate the proceeds from the commemorative card, presenting NT$7.5 million (US$227,000) to three different groups: the Taiwan Professional Baseball League (NT$3 million), the Taiwan Baseball Association (NT$3 million), and the Taiwan Indigenous Baseball Development Association (NT$1.5 million), per a press release.
The roster of Taiwan's Premier12 team included 14 Indigenous players, half of the 28-player roster. The outstanding performance of Indigenous athletes in Taiwanese baseball extends back to the original Taitung Red Leaf Little League team (1968), reflecting the important role that Indigenous have played in the sport's development.
This came despite the relatively scarce resources provided to Indigenous communities, as they have continually achieved accolades for Taiwan baseball in international competitions.
The EasyCard Corporation hoped that the donation could cultivate more outstanding baseball players from Indigenous communities and give children at the grassroots level of baseball more opportunities to pursue their dreams.
The 2024 Premier 12 Global Champions EasyCard went on sale Nov. 29 through FamilyMart, Books.com.tw, and PChome.
The funds will be disbursed over three years starting this year. EasyCard hopes the recipients will use the funds to promote local baseball and will review the usage of funds annually.
Attending a press conference to announce the donation on Tuesday were two Indigenous baseball players, Pan Chieh-kai (潘傑楷) and Lin Li (林立). Both players thanked EasyCard for the donation.
The 2024 Premier 12 Global Champions EasyCard is currently in production and is expected to ship by the end of March.