The club confirmed today they have no plans to shift the game despite the natural tragedy that struck in recent days. However, Phoenix will organise a relief collection this Saturday against Sydney FC with donation collectors on hand at Westpac stadium.

Phoenix central defender and Kiwi World Cup star Ben Sigmund is from the Canterbury region, the country’s second largest city, and still has family in the Garden City. He spoke of his shock at the natural tragedy and urged as many people to help those affected.

“It was a massive shock but thankfully everyone is okay. It’s the aftershocks now that are so frightening and that’s torture for people who are already scared,” he said.

“As sports fans the best way to show our support for the region is to be at that game [on Dec 5]. We had almost 20,000 people there for the game last year and hopefully we can get even more this time around.

"It may seem like a small thing but that support from outside the region all benefits the local economy and helps speed up the process of getting things back to normal.”

Phoenix players will also visit Christchurch in November to show their support ahead of the December match.

The state of emergency in Christchurch will be extended for another week, say reports, as the army enforces a no-go zone in the heart of the city after more than 60 per cent of the region's 160,000 homes received damage following Saturday’s quake and the subsequent after-shocks.

Schools, shops and businesses remain closed with the damage bill estimated at $NZ2 billion ($1.57 billion).

Phoenix have played a number of games in Canterbury including last season’s A-League match against the Reds which attracted almost 20,000 fans to AMI Stadium.