KEY POINTS:
It's almost certain the Wellington Phoenix will join the O-League, possibly as early as this season.
Oceania has been given two years by Fifa president Sepp Blatter to improve the quality of their performances at the Club World Cup or face expulsion from the lucrative competition.
New Zealand Football are keen for the Phoenix to be involved, given they are the only professional outfit in the confederation.
The Phoenix have so far been excluded from the O-League because they play in the A-League, which comes under the control of Asia. But the club has been ruled ineligible to compete in the Asian Champions League because it is located in an Oceania nation.
It had previously been thought the Phoenix would not be included in the O-League until 2008-09 because this season's competition was already well advanced.
But it's understood moves are afoot to include them in the final stages of the current competition as a way of proving to Fifa that Oceania are taking Blatter's warning seriously.
One way of accommodating the Phoenix would be to play a three-team final series. They would join the winners of the two pools and all three would play each other home and away.
Although Wellington would jump at the chance, it would mean playing at the end of April, during their off-season, and would have an influence on player recruitment.
The idea would gain the support of NZF but will not go down well with NZFC clubs, who don't believe it would be a level playing field and want to protect their chance of claiming the minimum US$500,000 for appearing at the Club World Cup.
The decision ultimately rests with Oceania, who are not known for their decisiveness, but they have already said they are not opposed to the Phoenix being involved in future O-Leagues.
A decision could be made by the end of the month, when Oceania president Reynald Temarii is scheduled to visit New Zealand.
NZF chief executive Graham Seatter said he had heard of the suggestion but that he had "no knowledge that it was definitely going to happen". Oceania general secretary Tai Nicholas could not be reached for comment.
The All Whites will play their 'home' World Cup qualifier against Fiji in Apia, Samoa, on June 23. They had been due to meet Fiji in the opening round of the World Cup in Auckland in October but Fifa ruled the match should be postponed after the New Zealand Government denied goalkeeper Simione Tamanisau an entry visa. The All Whites are well in command of Oceania qualification after three wins from three games.
