Phoenix chairman wants league clarity

Wellington Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison wants the A-League picture to become clearer before making firm decisions on club’s future, after finally responding to Australian media reports that he is looking to offload the licence to expansion hopefuls.

However, he did not outright deny a potential sale before the current licence expires at the end of the 2019-2020 season.

‘‘It is not appropriate for any further speculation and we will not be making any decision on the future of this club until the future of the A-League is clearer which may not be for some time,’’ Morrison said in a statement released by the club.

‘‘Ultimately we remain focused on our two key metrics – attendance at home games and viewership on Sky.’’

Although the statement opened with a sentence that stated that Morrison refuted claims he was looking to sell the licence, his comments in the media release did not support that. In fact, he said the club was keeping ‘‘abreast of all possible options’’.

‘‘As has been well reported in recent times, the A-League is in transition including a significant investigation by Fifa into the best governance model for the FFA and the impacts this will have on A-League and its independence.’’

‘‘The FFA has a stated desire, noted without consultation with the clubs through APFCA, to expand the A-League. This has instigated a storm of speculation around licences.

‘‘There are a number of parties interested and these parties have been talking to a number of clubs around A-League expansion and licences.

‘‘Wellington has not been immune to this and it’s only appropriate that as a club we keep abreast of all possible options going around the clubs.’’

Morrison said the Welnix ownership group had invested ‘‘a significant amount of money’’ into the club since taking over from Terry Serepisos in 2011 and it would continue to do so.