Seoul could host Asian qualifiers for the next World Baseball Classic in 2009.

Fox Sports of the United States on Thursday quoted the head of the Major League Baseball Players' Association Donald Fehr and a lead tournament organizer as saying Seoul could host the preliminaries.

Fehr called Seoul "a natural choice" given the country's success in the WBC.

Hinting at changing the tournament's format, he said a single-elimination semifinal is not the best way to decide a championship.

Feh also said tournament organizers will address umpire problems, citing Major League Baseball umpires did not work the event over a disagreement with WBC officials.

Other nations complained of the disproportionate number of American umpires, as 22 of the 32 who worked in the tournament were from American minor leagues.