There were efforts to get softball on the Olympic program during the 1950s. In 1950, the Amateur Softball Association of America sent letters to national organisations asking for assistance in getting the newly created International Olympic Federation to include softball on the Olympic program. Australia received such a letter and responded by asking for additional information. Irene Burrows, the Australian association secretary, was extremely keen to support this and took active steps to try to work on this goal. The Australian Softball Council made an effort in 1952 to get the sport included on the programme and thought they had a decent opportunity at doing just that because the sport had a great deal of popularity, being played in over 15 countries. This effort was mirrored by the Americans with the support of other countries such as New Zealand. Efforts to improve the chances of getting softball on the 1956 programme included having New Zealand's national softball body affiliating with the American one.