Major League Baseball received word on Friday that the U.S. Treasury Deptartment has granted a license so Cuba can participate in the upcoming inaugural World Baseball Classic.

MLB filed the reapplication on Dec. 22, a week after the Treasury Dept. denied the initial application on financial grounds, thus initially barring Cuba from the 16-team tournament that is now set to be played from March 3-20 in the United States, Japan and Puerto Rico.

MLB has been waiting for the past two weeks for the Treasury Dept. to act. And only two days ago, Bob DuPuy, MLB's president and chief operating officer, said he was "guardedly optimistic" that Cuba would be allowed to participate. On Friday that optimism came to fruition.

"I wish to thank the Department of State and the Department of Treasury for their assistance in securing the approvals necessary for Cuba to participate in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in March," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "The federal government thoughtfully and diligently helped us bring the application process to a successful conclusion. Now, with Cuba's entry in the tournament approved, the World Baseball Classic promises to be an historic event and will guarantee our fans the greatest possible competition among the best players in the world."

Cuba is the preeminent baseball power on the international scene and the winner of three of the four Olympic gold medals since baseball became a medal sport in 1992. They were the winners of the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, and the 2004 International Baseball Federation World Cup in the Netherlands. The Cubans have won the latter tournament 25 times since its inception in 1938. The IBAF World Cup is now played on a bi-annual basis and Cuba has won 12 of the last 13 gold medals dating back to 1976 (South Korea won in 1982).

Cuba has never competed against MLB players at the international tournament level and this is the first one that will include Major League players. The closest it came was splitting a pair of exhibition games against the Baltimore Orioles in 1999, losing in Havana and winning at Camden Yards.

Now Cuba will have its chance. The Cubans play the first round along with Puerto Rico, Panama and the Netherlands in Puerto Rico from March 7-10. If they are one of the top two teams in that round, they'll move on to the second round, again in San Juan from March 12-17 against the winners of the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Italy and Australia.

The Treasury Dept. initially rejected the license for Cuba to participate because the long-standing economic embargo of that island nation "prohibits entering into contracts in which Cuba or Cuban nationals have an interest," a spokesman for that department said last month.

"Working closely with World Baseball Classic, Inc., and the State Department, we were able to reach a licensable agreement that upholds both the legal scope and the spirit of the sanctions," the Treasury Dept. said in a statement. "The application is in full compliance with U.S. policy on Cuba. Our decision in both the previous denial and this approval is fully consistent with U.S. regulations and the normal procedures for sports exchanges."

The new application stipulated that there would be no financial gain for the Cubans. The application that was approved simply acknowledges that no money will be paid to the Cubans, apart from $100 per day for meals paid directly to the players.

The IBAF had threatened to revoke its sanction of the tournament if Cuba wasn't allowed to play, which would have forced the other countries to drop out. That, of course, is now moot. The IBAF sanctioned the tournament after long negotiations that involved and MLB and the players association, which are co-hosting the tournament.

The other 15 teams submitted their provisional rosters of up to 60 players each this past Tuesday night with nearly 400 Major League-affiliated players in the mix. Cuba is now expected to formally accept the invitation to play in the tournament and submit a roster to the IBAF from among their players who participate internationally. Cuban exiles playing in the Major Leagues, such as Orlando Hernandez, Livan Hernandez and Jose Contreras, won't be included.

MLB officials will also have to apply for the necessary visas so members of the team and approved traveling party can enter the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

"We are grateful for the cooperation of the Departments of State and Treasury," said Don Fehr, the executive director of the union. "The license we have been given opens the way for the Cuban Baseball Federation's participation, along with other federations from around the world, in the inaugural Baseball Classic, and we now look forward with even greater anticipation to the opening of the tournament in early March."