WELLINGTON Phoenix’s future in the A-League appears to be assured, but under whose ownership remains to be seen after a meeting between New Zealand and Australian football officials.
A meeting between FFA boss Ben Buckley and NZF chief Frank van Hattum took place regarding the club’s future, according to The Sunday Star-Times.
Current owner Terry Serepisos is in talks with businessman Ahsan Ali Sayed regarding a possible loan, but van Hattum is hopeful he can remain in control of the club.
“We don’t know Terry’s business and hopefully he can survive. But if he doesn’t, it’s a whole new ball game,” van Hattum said.
“If there has to be a restructure, New Zealand Football would work very closely with the FFA to make that happen. New Zealand Football would do everything to make that happen.”
Van Hattum said there was no contractual obligation for NZF to ensure Phoenix survived and that it had no say in the running of the club.
Serepisos continues to be confident he will receive a reported $100m loan and van Hattum said he had always received very positive communication from the owner.
Van Hattum said the body had received offers from potential owners and praised Serepisos for the way he had gone about his business with Phoenix.
"I think it would be like the last process, people will put their hand up and it will move at a very quick pace," he said.
"It will need someone who has got the same commitment and passion that Terry did. People sometimes forget he's made a significant financial commitment.
"The best deal would be for to Terry to stay involved, so we'll wait and see."
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