Should the Wellington Phoenix Be Playing in the AFC Champions League?

The Wellington Phoenix are definitely rising above the ashes. Their form will at least guarantee them a spot in the playoffs but Ernie Merrick, Nathan Burns and their merrymen are aiming for more than that - top spot after the regular season which would give them home advantage throughout the playoffs, and the chance of Wellington hosting the Grand Final of Australia's domestic league.

A mouthwatering prospect given New Zealand's recent form of ruining Australia's parties and perhaps the icing on the cake if New Zealand beat Australia at the MCG in the Cricket World Cup just over a month and a half prior to the scheduled A-League Grand Final.

Winning the championship would be an astonishing effort for the NZ based franchise and should come with plenty of rewards not just for the club but also for New Zealand football.

However, the Nix will be denied one reward that would normally presented to the A-League champions and runners-up - qualification for the financially lucrative AFC Champions League.

Because the Wellington Phoenix are a New Zealand registered franchise albeit playing in an Australian competition, they are in fact a Oceania Football Confederation entity playing in a Asian Football Confederation competition, and are therefore, not entitled to compete in the Asian Football Confederation as per agreement between FIFA, AFC and the OFC - or so we are led to believe.

Yes the Phoenix are a New Zealand based team and are not the only club in the world that play their football in another country - Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto all have clubs in the MLS across the border and Welsh clubs Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham and Newport all play in English leagues.

But hang on, the Phoenix franchise is effectively a FFA franchise that has been handed out by the FFA to a New Zealand based organisation, just like every other team in the A-League. So how does that make them different from the other A-League teams and make them less entitled to the riches of the AFC Champions League?

This will be a key sticking point should the Nix make the A-League Grand Final at least - a more distinct possibility now.

Yes, the AFC's version of the Champions League is not a bar on the more prestigious UEFA version or the Copa Liberatadores. But it is a very prestigious competition and a very financially lucrative one for any club that participates.

Ok, the fact that the competition is played in the A-League off-season may be a down side - Western Sydney's A-League season was clearly affected by the fact that the players played in the Champions League during the off-season.

It is still the highest tier club competition in this region and something to add to a player's CV - as well as their bank balances.

At this stage, the most the Nix can achieve is success in Australia because they aren't allowed to achieve success in Asia like the other Australian clubs.

I would love to see Saudi or Korean clubs playing the Nix in Wellington and I think we would give them a good fight during our winter at the stadium. It would also compliment our pre-season of playing Premier League sides.

So what's stopping that from happening?