Commissioner Robert Manfred announced Thursday that Major League Baseball is investing in the new Women's Professional Softball League.

The partnership with the Athlete Infinite Softball League marks the first major investment by Major League Baseball in women's professional sports.

Manfred said the timing felt right about the investment.

“We are very involved in the softball field as part of our youth engagement program. The increasing popularity of women’s sports has made us look around,” Manfred said. “We looked at startups, we considered investing, and we thought AUSL was perfect for us.”

When asked why Major League Baseball chose softball for women's baseball, Manfred cites the advantages of infrastructure.

“There is such a great softball infrastructure,” he said. “We think we can have a sustainable league faster in softball. ”

Jin NG will serve as a commissioner for the new athlete Unlimited Softball League. NG, who worked for 10 years in Major League Baseball before becoming AUSL Commissioner, said the partnership is an important step in both sports. NG notes that women's college softball "usually eliminates men" in their respective college world series.

“We have worked in the Major League Baseball for a decade and led softball players and we have been working on connecting with the women’s side to women’s college softball,” she said.

"Kin showed great leadership while being with us, which is an excellent management skill. There is no doubt that she has the ability to succeed in a job like this," said Manfred.

Major League Baseball will play featured games on its network and streaming services to help marketing and provide financial support to the league's operations.

AUSL will be held Saturday, June 7, with opening day games in Rosemount, Illinois and Wichita, Kansas. Wichita Games is exclusively aired on the MLB Network and MLB.TV at 7:30 pm ET.

The league's four teams, Gangsters, Fire, Paws and Volts will be held on July 23 for 24 seasons, finalizing the championship series at the University of Alabama Rhoads Stadium from July 26 to 28.

AUSL will become a city in 2026. This inaugural season features competitions in 12 cities.

Single-piece game tickets are available now, and more information can be provided on theausl.com.