AFC President message to FFA: no NZ teams by 2011

The Asian Football Confederation might have doubts about the longevity of Wellington Phoenix, but owner Terry Serepisos insists his fledgling A-League club "isn't going anywhere".

AFC president Mohamed bin Hammam caught both Football Federation Australia and the Phoenix by surprise a fortnight ago when he made it clear he did not want the New Zealand club in the A-League past 2011, when FIFA's approval for the club to be treated as a "special case" expires.

Those comments have forced the FFA into damage control, and during AFC executive meetings in Shanghai early this week it's believed chairman Frank Lowy and chief executive Ben Buckley both argued the case for Wellington's continued participation in the A-League.

Whether bin Hammam is inclined to relax his views remains unclear, but Buckley chose his words carefully before saying: "Let's make one thing clear, there are no issues between now and 2011 regarding Wellington. There is some work to do to clarify what happens after that, but we'll be sitting down with the club to work though the issues. In everyone's best interests, those are not discussions which should be held in public."

Serepisos, for now, remains happy to let the FFA take up the case on his behalf, but has emphasised he expects Wellington's long-term future to be clarified sooner rather than later.

"Obviously, this is a sensitive situation, and it would be nice if the FFA could sort it out without us having to get involved," he said.

"For now, we're letting them do that. But it's also true to say we will be protecting our interests. As I said when I started the club [last year], I am in this for the long haul. I've not spent $NZ10 million of my money on something that's only going to be around for a couple of years. We've got big plans for the future, we're as ambitious as anyone else, and we are putting the structures in place to make this a strong club for the long term."

Wellington's problems are unique in world football - not only does the club compete outside its country, it also competes outside its confederation, geographically at least - following Australia's switch from Oceania to Asia in 2006.

But Serepisos claims the club's confused status has already been worked out at the highest levels.

"We have a letter from FIFA, which we got a few months ago, which states we are regarded as an Australian club which resides in New Zealand.

"That's why all our players are registered with the FFA. We've closed the door on competing in Oceania, that's not going to happen. Our future is with Asia, that's what we are pursuing. If we win the league this season, for instance, we expect to be playing in the Asian Champions League. That's our position, and we believe we have the support to do that."

Buckley, meanwhile, confirmed Australia would pursue extra places in the ACL beyond 2011 after the revamp of Asia's showpiece club competition was approved by the AFC this week. The new ACL will be a 32-team competition from next year, with a one-off final [in Tokyo] and a fivefold increase in prizemoney to $US20 million ($31 million). The only changes made at the 11th hour by the AFC were to include clubs from Uzbekistan and Qatar at the expense of India and UAE.

Australia's two places were confirmed, but with the A-League entering an expansion phase, Buckley made it clear Australia would mount a strong claim for at least one more slot when the competition is next reviewed in 2011. The AFC has a rule that no domestic league can have more than one-third of its clubs qualifying for the ACL.