KEY POINTS:
Give him four or five days and Ricki Herbert should be enlisting players for a New Zealand team in a third A-League season.
While just failing to meet last night's repeat deadline to satisfy Football Federation Australia bosses that there will be a New Zealand-based franchise in the 2007-08 Hyundai A-League, New Zealand Soccer chief executive Graham Seatter is confident they will get the bid across the line by the close of business today.
FFA operations manager Matt Carroll too was relaxed last night.
"They [NZS] have made a submission and we are just waiting on final documentation," said Carroll yesterday.
"They probably should have had it to us by today but we can wait until the morning.
"They seem very confident," said Carroll who reiterated that the FFA is dealing solely with NZS and not the Wellington bidders.
"The offer of a New Zealand licence is with New Zealand Soccer but we have given them permission to enter into a sub-licence agreement with the Wellington franchisees.
"There are some gaps in what we have in front of us and we have gone back to them. It is now just a question of getting the agreements and the finances in place.
"Graham Seatter seems very confident they can do that."
Of suggestions games might be played at venues other than Wellington's Westpac Stadium, Carroll said that "would be very difficult at this late stage".
"I haven't been told of any plans to play anywhere other than the stadium," he said.
"We might agree to one game elsewhere next season but not much more."
Seatter said his board had been linked in a teleconference call for almost two hours yesterday and he had no concerns after.
"Unless something untoward now comes up, I can see us working through this step-by-step to ensure that ... [by today] it will be in place."
Seatter said the bidders had made huge ground this week to ensure the survival of a New Zealand team.
"Once the FFA gives their approval it will only need the negotiation, very early next week, between the franchise and Ricki Herbert as coach to kick-start it in earnest."
