Canadian softball player Alison Bradley is being tapped to help get her sport back into the Olympics.
Bradley, a two-time Olympian from Pinkerton, Ont., was one of 12 players named Friday by the International Softball Federation to its Athlete Ambassadors program.

Canada’s Alison Bradley runs to first base during Olympic Womens Softball game action against Chinese Taipei in Beijing August 12, 2008.

Softball, along with baseball, were removed from the Olympic program following this past summer’s Games in Beijing.

However, through its BackSoftball campaign and its ambassadors program, the ISF is fighting to bring the sport back into the Olympics for the 2016.

“We thank not only the national governing bodies that submitted candidates, but certainly all of these athletes that are so willing to help our efforts to get softball reinstated for the Olympics in 2016,” ISF president Don Porter said Friday in a statement.

“The Games are all about the athletes and though we’ve had some assisting with BackSoftball already, this program will formalize and more deeply involve some of the very same girls that are ambassadors of not only our sport, but of Olympic softball.”

Bradley, a 29-year-old outfielder, has played in several national championships, along with several international events, including the 2004 and 2008 Summer Games.

The 12 ambassadors announced Friday represent all five regions, including the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Eight of the players are Olympians.

The ambassadors will represent the ISF at international events and will help earn support from other softball players and influential people around the world. The aggressive campaign will culminate with a meeting at the International Olympic Committee’s session next October in Denmark.