Baseball's international governing body has drawn the ire of Baseball Canada over a scheduling issue for the 2008 Beijing Olympics qualifier next spring.

Baseball Canada is upset that the International Baseball Federation ignored their calls and those from Australia and Mexico to reschedule the tournament from March 7-15.

The three countries have been lobbying the IBAF since learning that Taiwan chose to stage the event early in North American spring training.

As a result, Canada, Australia and Mexico won't have access to most of their best available players, while the Asian entrants in the qualifier will have no such problems in securing the release of their top talent.

"I'm angry that we haven't taken the opportunity to improve how we do business in international baseball," Ray Carter, Baseball Canada's president, told the Canadian Press on Friday from Vancouver. "I don't feel good about being a member of the IBAF right now."

Canadian officials, along with those from Australia and Mexico, want the qualifier to be pushed back to April, when most spring training camps have wrapped up and the rosters of major-league teams are settled.

Will decide Beijing entries

The tournament will decide the final three entries to the Beijing Games, scheduled for Aug. 8-24.

All players not in the majors are eligible to play as long as their teams release them.

There had been hopes that new IBAF president Harvey Schiller, elected to replace the late Aldo Notari in March, would step in to level the playing field.

But in a letter sent to Baseball Canada on Thursday, he said the dates would stand despite the inequalities.

Schiller didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

Aside from asking for a date change, Canadian officials have also proposed a division of the qualifier into two tournaments.

One, hosted by Taiwan, would feature three Asian entrants, plus South Africa with a single Olympic berth up for grabs.

The other, perhaps hosted by Mexico in April, would have the Mexicans, Canada, Australia, England and Spain duke it out for two tickets to Beijing.

With files from the Canadian Press