I like the idea of centralised funding, but the acid then comes on NZF to administer it well and that is something it hasn't exactly earned its stripes in over the years.
That's where some 'outside the square' thinking could be required. The ASB Prem franchises could set up their own 'holding company' to apply for, and distribute, funding. NZF would still need to ratify it, but they don't control the trust funding now so I can't see why they'd be bothered about the franchises trying to put a better system in place.
There would be some other hurdles around how you account for where all the money's gone and provide appropriate documentation, but you could even get around that by having the holding company pay for some key expenses on behalf of franchises, instead of just doling out grants.
I dunno, whatever practical difficulties there are surely they can be got around if everybody (franchises, NZF, trusts, DIA) stays focused on the big picture and the desire to put a system in place that is good for everybody.
By the way, the last time I bothered adding it up the 8 franchises were generating around $2.5m - $3m in grants and sponsorship p.a., or approx. $350k each. But ACFC and Waitakere were responsible for around $1.1m of that, approx. $550k each. The other 8 franchises generated around $1.5m, or approx. $250k each. So under a centralised model 6 of the 8 franchises would get an increase of about $100k p.a. and 2 franchises would see their trust funding halved. Or you could split it 9 or 10 ways in order to create an additional fund to support the O-League competitors, which would be another benefit of having a centralised model.
"Phoenix till they lose"