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The Board of Football Federation Australia (FFA) has announced that it has decided an application from Wellington Phoenix for a 10-year licence extension to compete in the A-League will not be granted.
The current licence term under the Club Participation Agreement (CPA) for Wellington Phoenix expires at the end of the A-League 2015-16 season. Under the CPA, the Club has the option of requesting that FFA lodge an application to the relevant football authorities to seek approval of Phoenix’s participation in the A-League until the conclusion of the 2019-20 season.
Such an application is required in order to seek exemptions from various statutes of Football New Zealand, Oceania Football Confederation, Asian Football Confederation and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
FFA CEO David Gallop said the Board decision was taken in the best interests of Australian football.
“FFA has carefully evaluated the role and contribution of the Wellington franchise in terms of game development, player pathway, commercial factors, broadcast rights and the long-term strategic outlook,” said Gallop. “The application for a 10-year extension to the licence does not meet the requirements we see as fundamental to the future growth of the A-League.”
It will be interesting to see how the Phoenix receive this news, and whether the Wellington board will seek a four year extension.
However, it might not be the end of the road for New Zealand in the A-League. It appears the FFA have made it clear that Phoenix need to improve their proposal. Whether that will be boardroom and management changes or a greater integration with the Australian game is unclear, however it has increased the likelihood of an additional Australian expansion side in the near future.
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