FFA hands Wellington Phoenix licence extension

Football Federation Australia (FFA) has come to an agreement with Wellington Phoenix to extend the club’s A-League licence for a further 10 years.

Doubts arose in regards to Phoenix’s future within the competition after FFA rejected its application for a 10-year licence extension in October last year.

However, the governing body revealed on Friday Phoenix have been handed an immediate four-year deal, as well as two further three-year extensions dependent on a number of factors, including broadcast rights from New Zealand. 

The four-year deal sees Phoenix remain in the A-League until the end of the 2019-20 season, while the further two extensions – if applied – would see them compete in the league at least until 2025-26. 

The immediate extension will be applied following authorisation from FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and New Zealand Football (NZF).

“Garnering greater nation-wide support was seen as critical, as were the benchmarks on crowds and payments to the A-League,” said FFA chairman Steven Lowy.

“The Welnix Group has always had the good of the game at the forefront of its ambition and that is recognised in this renewed commitment to the A-League.”

FFA chief executive David Gallop was pleased to be able to come to a deal with Phoenix. 

“The agreement with the Welnix Group for an extension of the Wellington Phoenix licence offers long-term security for the club as well as a critical lift in value for the A League,” he said.

“The Welnix Group has been a stable supporter of the club in Wellington but now we join each other in a new phase to grow Wellington Phoenix and work together to ensure the long-term security works hand-in-hand with increases in key performance indicators [average crowds] and revenue streams [including TV rights fees] for the club and the league as a whole.”

Phoenix are second-last in the 10-team A-League, nine points from a finals position.