"they're a club in another country and that's not done very often, if at all, in world football"
Actually, it's done quite often in world football. What isn't done at all in world football is a financially stable, well run club being folded.
What's also done quite often in football (and other sports) is that leagues are run independently of the governing body, but you won't hear Frank spouting off about that.
Something else Frank is also conveniently ignoring is that there isn't a professional club in the world (especially in Europe) that would turn down the opportunity to play in another country's league if there was money to be made. Celtic and Rangers would join the EPL without a second thought. Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich etc would form a European Super League tomorrow if they could. Clubs are professional organisations, many of them are now on the stock market, so they don't give a flying fudge about national sovereignty. Not that I'm saying that's always a good thing (in fact, a purely commercial view like that is often at the expense of fans) but Frank's in la la land if he's trying to paint the Phoenix as some really weird anomaly. The fact is, we already have what a lot of pro clubs would love to have - access to a bigger market - and I predict that over time we will start to see more movement in that direction around the world. Just look at the way the UEFA Champions League has expanded in recent times. But that's the essence of the problem for Frank and the FFA (and many other national associations) - keeping the clubs firmly corralled within their own little nest, so that they can keep control over the money.