2014 OFC Champions League

City with a perfect season! Well done

Charity Cup

Minor Premiership

Grand Final

O-League

Pulsating game. Brilliant watch.

0-1

1-1

2-1

Champions again!

Not to mention Youth League champions to boot! Truly the best club in the land. Once again City's O League prize money of $580,000 is going to be shared with the other ASBP sides. This club is the lifeblood of the domestic national league. The O League final game in Kiwitea Street yesterday was a fantastic advertisement for both ACFC and the O League. Amicale really came close and it's clear the level of the bigger O League sides is getting better, something Team Wellington are going to find out first hand next season.

Congratualtions. Can't deny that's a successful side.

Could anybody? Have you been to Stoke on a wet Tuesday night?

Cant wait till Nix's reserve win the league and take part in the O-League. Would have a better turn out then........ well lets not go there.

Cant wait till Nix's reserve win the league and take part in the O-League. Would have a better turn out then........ well lets not go there.

Why post this a day after ACFC win the O'League?

A lot of people on here bemoan the ACFC supporters trolling about the Phoenix and yet you do the exact same thing everyone bitches about the ACFC guys doing.

How about just "well done ACFC, congratulations on your win, thanks for bringing a minimum of USD $500K into NZ for. Football in NZ" and leave any comment about what May or may not happen in the future, until a decision has been made.

For me personally, thanks ACFC and congratulations!

Sorry Royz to spoil your dream but the Phoenix, even their reserve team, can't play in the O League because the Phoenix are an Australian registered club and Australia play in the Asian Confederation. Only a NZ registered side can play in the O League.

I asked him about this on the pod.

Graham Seatter is also on record (in Sitter magazine) as saying he hoped the NZFC i.e. ASB as was, "would become a semi-professional league." What happened to that?

Graham Seatter is also on record (in Sitter magazine) as saying he hoped the NZFC i.e. ASB as was, "would become a semi-professional league." What happened to that?

So, Nix are the most specific club in the world.

They play in AFC league and are based in OFC country. They can't play in AFC competitions as they are based in OFC country, but can't play in OFC competitions as they play in AFC league.

There is a club of similar statue here in Europe, Vaduz from Liechtenstein. They play in Swiss league, but can't qualify to UEFA comps via Swiss league - they can via Liechtenstein Cup, though.

Australia won't allow the Phoenix (or any NZ A League side) to play in the AFC, even if they win the A League. They also restrict the playing squad compared to the Australian-based A league sides, and won't allow the Phoenix into the reserve competition. They also brand NZ players as imports when rugby league and rugby don't thus restricting their appeal to most A League sides. Why would this be? My guess is they want to tap into NZ as a useful added market for the A League while not wanting to develop NZ football too much.

It's a pretty rum deal if you ask me. I've always harboured a suspicion that if the ASBP ever collapsed through NZF's foolish indifference and with it went NZ's prospects of competing in the O League, then FFA could simply pull the plug on a NZ franchise in the A League and NZ football would plunge into the dark ages, with only the small scale winter club scene left. 

So it makes it even crazier that NZF should show so little interest in the ASBP and O league.

Out of interest - are NZ players branded as imports in the Australian state league competitions or does that only apply to the A League?

I don't think you can say 'Australia have branded Kiwis as imports'. I would suspect that would be an AFC ruling at confederation level which would be out of the FFAs hands. Within the leagues of Australia governed by the FFA, who knows... 

What they do in rugby and league is of little relevance because there are only 2 leagues in the world - NRL and Super League and Super 15 and whatever is played in England so not even close to the same comparison against the many decent leagues in football across the world.

I also think you contradict yourself. On one hand, the FFA brand Kiwis as imports because they view NZ as a useful market for the HAL. Why would they then as you said, jettison that team if the ASBP collapses? Surely if NZ is a useful market place, they wont be cutting that off when our domestic league here fails. They are not even related or close to it.

Perhaps you're right but I suspect FFA sided with and even encouraged the Asian confederation having NZ players listed as imports because it's in their interest. You have to ask yourself why would the Asian nations be bothered about the status of NZ players in the A League if NZ is in Oceania? It doesn't seem an issue in the Australian state leagues as I see a number of ASBP players have headed to the Queensland league and a recent game between Green Gully and South Melbourne in the VPL featured three Kiwis - James Musa, Jason Haynes and Jeffrey Fleming. So why is it such a big deal in the A League? I suspect if NZ players weren't imports and thus restricted, we could have a dozen or more playing for Australian-based A League sides. FFA doesn't want that.

Also it is a contradiction - Australia want to expand their television base into NZ but don't want to open the door to too many NZ players playing in the A League.

I think FFA fears that if they don't restrict NZ players in the A League by having them deemed imports then the A League sides will see NZ as a good source of relatively cheap and useful squad members, just like the state leagues currently do. I'd say there are probably a dozen NZ players not tied to the Phoenix who could be included in other A League rosters right now. That would translate into a bigger pool of professional NZ players and thus a stronger All Whites down the line. I don't think the FFA sees that in their interest, even though we're in different confederations because one day NZ just might join the Asian confederation if Oceania is downgraded. The other Asian confederation members probably share this sentiment too.

I can see no other reason for the current restrictions being placed on NZ players in the A League and the unfair restrictions imposed on the Phoenix. For this reason alone I think NZ players should be a priority at the Phoenix, almost to the extent that if a potential/actual All White is available he should be signed over an imported player. The only problem could be is if the Phoenix fielded a majority NZ squad, then FFA might get nervous about it becoming a shadow All Whites using the A League for development and pull the plug on NZ participation. I think we'd be foolish to think the FFA has our best interests at heart.

Yawn......

Sorry, we keeping you up Royz by having an adult conversation?

And to add to the contradiction - an Australian player is not an import for the Phoenix, but a NZ player is for an Australian A League team. Go figure? I think it's called double standards.