A Japanese organization that helps cultivate professional baseball talent from West Africa has launched an online crowdfunding campaign to bring a group of players from Burkina Faso, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire to Japan for a six-week course of training and exhibition games this summer.

The organization, based in Hokkaido, seeks to raise ¥3.5 million by March 31 to sponsor the group of 11 players ranging in age from 14 to 21 and one coach. As of Thursday, it had gathered ¥755,000.

In addition to receiving baseball training, the West African players would take on an alumni team of former players from Nippon Professional Baseball's Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters as well as university and independent league teams in exhibition games on an itinerary spanning from Hokkaido to western Japan.