NEW YORK — Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) have announced new advancements to grow youth baseball and softball throughout the U.S. and Canada, with an added focus on underserved areas.

Projects are being funded by the $US 30 million MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation, which was established in 2015 under MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark.

The foundation announced donations of nearly $US 2 million to go toward several youth-focused programmes supported by current and former MLB players.

It was also revealed that baseball hero Ken Griffey Jr. will serve as a youth ambassador for the development foundation.

Targeting the youth sector, in 2015 MLB and USA Baseball launched the “Play Ball” initiative to encourage participation in baseball at any level in the U.S., particularly among youth, and it was also recently announced that ASA/USA Softball would help expand the programme across softball.

In 2015, U.S. National Teams won three different youth world championships: the U-12 Baseball World Cup, U-18 Baseball World Cup and U-19 Women’s Softball World Championship.