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The move by New Zealand Football to have the Wellington Phoenix as their representative in future Fifa World Club Cup tournaments is far from a done deal.
NZF chief executive Graham Seatter yesterday reaffirmed his association's preference to have a "professional team like the Phoenix" on the world stage but said much would need to be done and agreed to before that could happen.
At present the O-League - Oceania club champion - winner has the right to play in the Fifa championship. The O-League winner is found after a six-team play-off involving winners of the national leagues.
In the 2006-07 O-League, following the withdrawal of the Vanuatu representative Port Vila Sharks, New Zealand were invited to field a second team. Waitakere United accepted that and went on to win through to December's tournament where they will play the J-League winner for a place in the World Club Cup proper.
But Seatter is keen that in future, the Phoenix should have their chance to take that spot.
"It might prove to be too hard to do but we want to be credible on the world stage," said Seatter. "Why would you send a second-rate amateur team when you could have a professional team?
"I believe Oceania should be promoting the best possible teams from their region even if that means again having two New Zealand clubs involved in the O-League.
"Last year, after Auckland City's performance in Japan, the door was half-closed. Depending on how Waitakere fare this year it could be fully closed," Seatter said.
But he does admit timing could be a thorny issue for the Phoenix, who play in the Australian-based Hyundai A-League under the umbrella of the Asian Confederation.
The O-League dates will not fit in with the A-League season, which could scupper their chances.
The OFC executive will meet in December in Noumea to make their call. OFC general secretary Tai Nicholas said yesterday that the general consensus among his member nations was that the O-League should be a competition for winners of genuine national leagues within the top six Oceania countries.
The New Zealand Football Championship clubs do not want a bar of the Phoenix in the O-League.
"The NZFC clubs are committed to raising the standard of the game here and helping find potential All Whites," said club's spokesman Ivan Vuksich yesterday. "Why would you bother to continue raising the $300,000-$400,000 clubs are spending if the carrot at the end of the season is going to be taken away?"
Under Seatter's plan, the Phoenix would play off with the NZFC winner for the New Zealand spot in the O-League.
"The whole future of the game depends on getting it right," said Vuksich. "You take away this incentive and we might as well all go and play in the winter leagues."
Seatter rejected suggestions that the clubs wanted, at the very least, prizemoney as an incentive.
"The NZFC clubs don't want prizemoney," said Seatter. "They are happy with our proposal that any money won by the club at the World Club Cup should be split - 10 per cent to NZF, 40 per cent to the club competing in Japan [or wherever] and the remaining 50 per cent split among the other NZFC clubs."
The licence agreement in front of the clubs says that but as yet no club has signed the new agreement which suggests that, and other issues, need further debate before a fourth NZFC season kicks off on November 3-4.
