It should be remembered as one of New Zealand football’s greatest years. Instead, AFC politics clouds the future of the Wellington Phoenix – the linchpin of New Zealand football’s success – as its glorious year ends in uncertainty.
AFC’s insistence that Wellington must become an Australian based club, meaning the Phoenix will be restricted in the number of Kiwis they can field, or else face exclusion from the Asian Champions League, shows the confederation isn’t going to budge on this issue.
It would be a devastating blow for New Zealand, Oceania and the A-League.
The success story of the Phoenix has been the opportunity it gives to young Kiwis to ply their trade in a competitive and professional league.
There is a clear path from the clubs of the NZFC to the Phoenix, and without Wellington it is highly unlikely World Cup qualification would have been possible.
The elimination of New Zealand’s – and Oceania’s – only professional football club will set football back in the region yet again; undoing the advances made during the Phoenix’s existence.
The AFC’s insistence, undoubtedly fuelled by the All Whites depriving the AFC of a World Cup spot in the form of Bahrain, leaves the FFA in the precarious position of trying to appease the AFC while hoping for a solution to keep a New Zealand presence in the league; assisting Oceania greatly.
The A-League will be a lesser competition without the Phoenix, their passionate supporters and the quality of Kiwi footballers that are increasingly spreading around the competition.
The advances in New Zealand football have been obvious – World Cup qualification, Shane Smeltz being awarded the Johnny Warren medal, the NZFC’s Auckland City defeating more fancied AFC opposition in the World Club Cup, and the Wellington Phoenix rising to be a consistent threat in the A-League.
Without the Phoenix, those achievements would be near impossible to achieve.
As they try and work themselves into A-League finals contention, keeping one eye on World Cup preparations knowing a strong performance in South Africa is essential to validate Oceania’s half qualification spot, you have to feel very sorry for all those associated with the Phoenix, with an unjust axe hanging over them.
It’s a grossly unfair situation, and yet again Oceania is being treated like the forgotten child of world football, and the AFC is yet again being ignorant to the fragile state of Oceania and Australia’s burden of responsibility to the region.
The Phoenix, All Whites and Oceania need FIFA – who have been sympathetic to the Phoenix’s plight – to act with conviction and fairness to ensure the region isn’t condemned to further isolation. The A-League needs Blatter to act in order to save one of the best-run franchises.
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K.B. said | December 21st 2009 @ 7:02am | Report comment
Invite Auckland City into the HAL then Mohamad bin Hammam would really have something to worry about…. By doing so that would restore parity for the ALL WHITES with 6 players for their national team and still conform to the Asian Confederations foreign player rule … also providing NZ with a derby..
~~~~~~~~
KB
PRSancho said | December 21st 2009 @ 8:28am | Report comment
That would be the best answer A-League and FFA could give…
Roger said | December 21st 2009 @ 9:00am | Report comment
Yeah, because the A-League will be a roaring success in Auckland, based on past performance and crowds.
K.B. said | December 21st 2009 @ 9:13am | Report comment
Roger,
that was then and now is now and Auckland FC surprise everyone by taking out 5th spot in the FIFA world club cup tournament, winning a cool $1.5m for a couple of weeks work…
Dickroo said | December 21st 2009 @ 8:06am | Report comment
Get an Aussie passport for each Kiwi player – Problem solved.
Ka-Blonk said | September 11th 2011 @ 4:58pm | Report comment
Yeah right mate, Australia is going to hand out easy Australian passports to Kiwi soccer players? You’re dreaming.
PRSancho said | December 21st 2009 @ 8:26am | Report comment
This completely senseless decision is just another reason to SPLIT the Asian Football Confederation in two, and make Oceania to join a new Pacific Football Confederation.
This is just silly REVENGE!
Mxjosh said | December 21st 2009 @ 8:32am | Report comment
I really doubt these new laws on the phoenix will be implemented. Sepp Blatter has made a strong staement on the matter and said that Wellington will still be in the A-league as it is in the future. Having said that its terrible the way the AFC is threating the Phoenix, they deserve their spot
AndyRoo said | December 21st 2009 @ 8:52am | Report comment
How is destroying the 1 profesional football team in the entire confederation “good” for Football.
It’s a total injustice and those in the West calling for this move should be held more accountable.
The attempts to hold someone else down rather than improve their own backyard is probably why West Asian football hasn’t progressed as much as other regions.
Marshall said | December 21st 2009 @ 9:25am | Report comment
It’s not fair at all. FIFA need to force AFC to take in Oceania then this won’t be a problem
Realfootball said | December 21st 2009 @ 9:26am | Report comment
It is all very regrettable. It is clearly in the game’s interests to keep Pheonix in the A-League, but I can’t imagine that Blatter will buy a fight with the AFC over one small club. The realpolitic situation looks very bleak for the Phoenix.
Roger, re Auckland, back in the old NSL days with Football Kingz, they could pull 10,000 to games before the team started getting whacked every game. They have a brilliant stadium at Nth Shore – 22,000 capacity, just right. They filled the stadium for all the significant matches in that tournament. There are a million people in Auckland and a good, well run team (as distinct from the debacles of the recent past) would certainly match many Australian A-League teams for attendances. I think an Auckland team would be a very desirable acquisition for the A-League.
pimbo said | December 21st 2009 @ 10:27am | Report comment
And with the World Cup qualification and Auckland City’s performances the game is growing again in New Zeal Land.
Simon Smith said | September 11th 2010 @ 3:19pm | Report comment
I don’t see it in “‘the game’s best interest” to keep Wellington in the League, I don’t buy it…and as for including Auckland again in the A-League, forget it. Not after all the trouble that’s been going on just to keep Wellington in it. I’m not prepared to go into bat for NZ like that again.
deadman said | December 21st 2009 @ 9:46am | Report comment
This is how i see it.
* Under 17s and just about all womens nation sides in New Zealand have done well without any help from the Nix’s or Australia.
* ACFC beat Al Ahli FC and the CAF top club side Tout Puissant Mazembe without any help from the Nix’s or Australia.
When i hear that there is no way NZF can stand on its own two feet feet without the Nix’s, I tend to think the politics will look closer at the results and say “hey kiwi – If you can get to the World Cup, And also Compete very well with a amateur side in ACFC coming 5th in the Club World Cup why should there be any handouts from AFC?”
You can only cry poor for so long, before the world catches on to a (all) white lie.
Phutbol said | December 21st 2009 @ 10:01am | Report comment
Would be a big ask but i think Oceania’s half WC spot should be absorbed by AFC with the OFC winner (NZ) placed into last round (final 10 teams) of AFC WC qualifying.
AFC is happy because effectinvely they get 5 WC spots knowing NZ must prevail in full home and away comp to get in WC.
OFC retains it’s ‘independent’ status ie not dissolved and absorbed into Asia, but still participates in Asian competition setting precedent for Wellingtons situation. additionally the smaller (poorer) OFC countries still participate in their regional qualifiers without having to travel all of asia.
Lastly NZ football federation has to compromise slightly by taking a (arguably) harder route to the WC, but gets all the benefits of genuine competition in asia and placates the AFC enough to keep Pheonix in the a-league and potentialy AFC champions league.
I think the big question with a scenario like this is does the AFC value that half WC spot enought to allow OFC winner into the last round of WC qualifying? I think if the alternative is what happend this year then possibly the answer could be yes.
Crazy Dave said | December 21st 2009 @ 1:07pm | Report comment
That is a damn fine suggestion Phutbol… I only hope that someone from AFC, FFA or FIFA reads The Roar….
Kazama said | December 21st 2009 @ 10:27am | Report comment
To lose the Phoenix would be a blow for the A-League and a disaster for football New Zealand and Oceania. The Nix have been solid since joining our comp and been a massive improvement over their predecessors. Because of all of the issues we have here in Australia (competition with rival codes for fans, limited resources including size of the player pool, limited number of cities that can sustain even one A-League team etc.) we will be stronger with our neighbours helping us out than if we went it alone.
As we’ve seen with some of the crowds in North Queensland and on the Gold Coast, you can just set up a team and expect the public to jump on. The Nix have an established fan base – remove them and you may not be able to replace them overnight, or indeed ever.
The implications for Oceania and New Zealand are more obvious. The Nix is a crucial stepping stone for footballers in New Zealand to aspire to – take that away and their best chance for a game at a professional club in most cases will still be the A-League, however they will have to battle it out with imports from all over the globe for one of the five allotted spots on a club’s list.
Hopefully Blatter will step in and overrule MbH and allow the Nix to continue. If we want football to live up to “the world game” tag then we should be encouraging the growth of the sport everywhere – which is exactly what the presence of the Wellington Phoenix in the A-League is doing for the footballing third world, otherwise known as Oceania.
dasilva said | December 21st 2009 @ 11:53am | Report comment
AFC can not tell us that we can’t have Wellington in our league as it is a FIFA issue and Blatter can intervene
However I don’t think Sepp Blatter can intervene if AFC decided they want to kick A-league out of the Champions League (which is the condition, if Wellington Phoenix remains by 2012 then no A-league clubs will be allowed in the AFC champions league) or heaven forgive, they decide to kick us out of the AFC. After all AFC champions league and AFC membership is a internal AFC issue.