Phoenix ‘ready to resume as soon as possible’
New Zealand Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell says the governing body is standing in solidarity with the Wellington Phoenix, but declined to offer any insight as to how the A-League club is responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Phoenix have been largely silent for the past three weeks, but finally provided an update of their own yesterday, in the form of an email to members from general manager David Dome, which has obtained a copy of.
The email did not inform members that the Phoenix have applied for and received the government’s wage subsidy – a total of $324,732 dollars for 47 employees, including their 22 contracted players, which will help them continue to make payments at a time when most A-League clubs have stopped.
It did say, however, that they are ‘‘ready to resume as soon as possible,’’ should Football Federation Australia decide to restart the 2019-20 season, which was put on hold on March 24, ‘‘subject to whether travel restrictions and other factors are still in place at the time’’.
‘‘All but two of our squad [Ulises Da´ vila and Gary Hooper] are in New Zealand or Australia, which in theory makes it easy for us to get back up and running relatively quickly.
‘‘We still feel that there’s unfinished business this season and we were in top form when the league went into suspension – we want to take on all those teams again.’’
The Warriors are in a similar position to the Phoenix, but are closer to being back in action, after the NRL announced on Thursday that it was looking to start up again on May 28.
Warriors boss Cameron George has said one of the biggest obstacles in front of them is being granted permission to enter Australia, where they will need to be based, at least initially, and the same would go for the Phoenix.
Complicating matters is the fact that the Phoenix already tried to base themselves in Sydney in March, in an ill-fated effort to keep the A-League going, but failed to adhere to the conditions of entry that were imposed on them.
They had been required to stay in isolation for 14 days at a venue in the city’s north, but failed to so do, as Tim Payne and Oli Sail went for a joyride in a golf cart on the final night of their six-night stay, an incident that also resulted in Payne being charged with a drink-driving offence.
The club announced on March 26 that it was ‘‘taking the matter very seriously’’ and ‘‘continuing its investigations’’. No mention of the incident was made in the email to members and those investigations would appear to still be ongoing 17 days later.
Seven of the A-League’s 11 clubs have stood down their players and staff without pay, as they are allowed to under Australian employment law, amid uncertainty about the league’s financial situation, and, in particular, future payments from broadcast rights holder Fox Sports.
The Phoenix have traditionally operated with one of the smaller budgets in the A-League – though in the current season, they were believed to spending as much on their playing squad as they ever had before – and Dome was stressing as recently as February that the club’s owners were eager for it to increase its revenue streams.
They might not have the same options available, but the fact they are standing alongside three of the league’s wealthiest clubs – Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory, and Sydney FC – in still paying players and staff when clubs of a similar size to them aren’t is likely only to increase the pressure on their finances.
In the email to members, Dome said: ‘‘As a business, there are some very real challenges in front of the club – but as many of you know – this little club has been faced with a number of challenges in its existence and weathered them all to come back stronger’’.
Pragnell told in an interview yesterday that the Phoenix’s place in the A-League and their role in the New Zealand football system were both ‘‘critical,’’ but didn’t want to comment as to what he knew about how they were coping.
‘‘Any professional franchise and any professional league in any sport is under intense pressure, but with respect to them, it’s better that they comment, really.’’
An update on the future of the 2019-20 A-League season is expected in less than two weeks, on April 22.