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Wellington Phoenix's Tim Brown celebrates after scoring against Melbourne Victory during their round 6 match, played at the Ethihad stadium in Melbourne, Sunday, Sept 13, 2009. Phoenix drew the match with Victory 1-1 after full time.(AAP Image/Joe Castro)
I’ve been amazed by the football noise that’s been coming out of New Zealand over recent weeks. While I suppose it all started with that fateful match against Bahrain in November, since almost 20,000 fans stumped up in Christchurch to see the Phoenix defeat Adelaide United 1-0 almost four weeks ago, I’ve started to believe.
Not that Wellington Phoenix is capable of winning the Grand Final (despite Paul Ifil’s best efforts, I still find them one of the league’s least enjoyable teams to watch), but that the game in New Zealand is at a crucial point.
In truth, despite the national team qualifying for the World Cup, the Under 17 side finding success in Nigeria and the Phoenix’s debut finals appearance, New Zealand football hasn’t achieved anything that will ensure its long-term success yet.
The point, though, is that the game is now in a position to do so.
This momentum needs to be seized upon and New Zealand Football must form a long-term plan to galvanise the game at grassroots, club and national team level. Whether this involves Asia or not is a debatable point (though I think it does).
The key is going to be Wellington Phoenix.
A national team alone can’t secure a game’s future in any country. Look at South Korea or even the Socceroos as an example.
The regular football, sustained presence, and potential for success the Phoenix offer, however, could give the game some crucial leverage.
Unfortunately dark clouds still hang above the Phoenix’s future, thanks to the unnecessary license demands of Asian Football Confederation President, Mohammod Bin Hammam.
While on the pitch there isn’t yet a lot for Wellington to offer Asia, off it there certainly is.
I sat among a pitiful 4,983 people at Seongnam’s Tancheon Stadium who had paid between 5 and 11 Australian dollars to see Sasa Ognenovski’s Seongnam defeat Kawasaki Frontale 2-0. Scan the other crowd figures from this week’s Asian Champions League openers and, outside of China, attendances were similar.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix have already sold 25,000 tickets to Sunday week’s game against Newcastle.
Bin Hammam’s comments to The World Game yesterday that he’d like, “all Asia to stand behind one bid,” have me worried that Football Federation Australia might be willing to trade off the Phoenix’s integrity for a shot at winning the hosting rights to the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.
Not only would it be morally wrong, it would be a mistake for the A-League.
In a season where the two new clubs have both struggled off the pitch, North Queensland financially and Gold Coast in the stands, Wellington Phoenix are the only really good story to come out of season 5.
Organised in a few haphazard months before the 2007/08 season, the Phoenix have slowly built themselves up off and on the pitch. The A-League is better off because the ‘Nix’s contribution and FFA must acknowledge this by sorting out their future now.
My message for Wellington Phoenix, meanwhile, is to learn from Melbourne Victory’s mistakes. Their story this season reminds me of Melbourne’s phenomenal rise in season 2 of the A-League.
12 months later, the Victory had let itself down on the pitch and even more alarmingly left many of its fans with a sense of betrayal off it. Melbourne’s crowds, while still good, haven’t been the same since then.
So Wellington, cherish your fans. They are the reason your club deserves its place within the A-League.
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