"Hopefully, within the very near future, we'll come out with a program or some options for our local programs to utilize to help alleviate some of the stuff that we just went through," Little League president and CEO Stephen Keener said Friday.

"The options, I think are obvious. Either we go back to an all-female program, but that has legal repercussions that we don't think are defensible in some cases. The other option, he said, is to develop a boys-only program.

The question Little League is now studying is whether a boys-only program would be viable.

Keener made his statements after the Little League International board of directors agreed to come up with a plan to legally permit a girls-only softball program.

Controversy arose in last week's Little League Softball World Series in Kalamazoo, Mich., when the Eloy, Ariz., team's roster included five boys - the first time boys have competed in the tournament - and went on to win the title.

Three games were forfeited, including the championship game by the Philippines.

Keener said that while Little League has been studying ways to resolve the issue over the past years, last week's events pushed the directors into taking immediate action.

"I think it's safe to say what transpired over the last couple of weeks certainly more aggressively progressed our needs to get something done before the next season," he said.

Critics had said the boys held an unfair physical advantage over many of the girls against whom they played, and even posed a danger. There was no organized baseball program for the 16-year-old boys in Eloy to join, so they hooked up with the softball team, which lacked enough female participants.

Little League Softball was established in 1974, and boys have been participating for the last 12 years.

According to Little League records, about 0.25 percent - 2½ of every 1,000 - softball players in Little League programs are boys.