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Wellington Phoenix Chair Refutes Claims He Wants To Sell Club

A-League side Wellington Phoenix Chair Rob Morrison "refuted claims he wants to sell the club's A-League license," according to Jason Pine of the NEW ZEALAND HERALD. However, Morrison "echoed the call" from other A-League club chairs that "significant change is needed in the way the A-League is run if the competition is to survive." Morrison has reportedly "already met with interested parties as he seeks to either completely sell the license or enter into a shared ownership or merger agreement with another group based in Australia." It is understood that he "held talks with at least two expansion hopefuls" to "explore the possibility of a full or partial sale of the Phoenix's license." Morrison said, "There has been all sorts of speculation about clubs talking to clubs. Parties have certainly talked to us and I know they have talked to other A-League clubs. When you announce there are going to be two new clubs, there's lots of jockeying for position and that's stirred up a lot of speculation. We'd be silly not to talk to people but that doesn't mean we're selling. However, we've always been open to the fact that we'd like to have other investors in with us to share some of the load and who will create more pathways for the talent we produce" (NZ HERALD, 4/25).

POSSIBLE MERGER: STUFF's Phillip Rollo reported Morrison said that the Phoenix ownership consortium -- the Welnix group -- will "not be making any big decisions on the future" of the club until the "future of the A-League itself becomes clearer." He did, however, admit that a merger "remains a possibility." Morrison: "I guess that is still possible, but there's a huge amount dependent on where this governance review process goes and whether or not we get an independent A-League established. We did look at it before, and I think we probably would look at it again, but we need to understand what this new A-League is going to look like." Phoenix fan site Yellow Fever Founder David Cross, who has supported the club since its inception in '07, "struggled to see how a possible merger would work." Cross: "To me, Australians are the great rivals. I don't see how you merge an Australian and a New Zealand side. Hopefully the FFA [Football Federation Australia] situation is sorted out and it isn't an issue for us" (STUFF, 4/24).

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