updated 2:02 p.m. ET April 27, 2004

NEW YORK - A baseball World Cup would have more stringent drug testing than in the majors under agreements reached Monday.

Baseball hopes to hold the event next March, playing in North America with eight to 16 national teams. The testing program would meet standards of the Olympics and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The Olympics ban several substances that are not prohibited by Major League Baseball. Steroids are banned by both.

Players will be subject to more frequent testing during the World Cup than is allowed in the majors. An agreement among MLB, the players’ union and the International Baseball Federation was needed to clear the way for the tournament.

“We are excited about the prospects of a World Cup of Baseball,” commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. “The drug-testing agreement allows us the opportunity to stage a true World Cup that will showcase our sport to the entire world.”

“I am grateful to all of those involved in shaping the agreements,” he said.

Testing can begin 45 days before the tournament.

“It will be for the complete WADA list,” said Rob Manfred, baseball’s top labor lawyer.

Said Gene Orza, the union’s chief operating officer: “It subjects the players to a wider range of substances than the current baseball agreement.”

“It is performed by a WADA-certified laboratory, but it is still worked out under the arrangements we have with the IBAF,” he said.

MLB and the union will now begin talks with other international federations and professional leagues to decide which countries and players will compete.

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