IIRC the Phoenix have a record for the most players a single club has had represented in a world cup squad, they also produced 7 players for the under 17 team that did so well in Chile.
That is how important the Phoenix are. Without them we wouldn't have qualified for the World Cup, and we would probably have finished last in our pool in the under 17 world cup. And things are only getting better.
You do what you can to keep an asset that is performing so well even if it means swallowing your pride and compromising.