NEW ZEALAND Football is ready to hand control of the Wellington Phoenix licence over to owner Terry Serepisos if it helps to keep the club in the A-League beyond 2011.

The long-term future of the Phoenix has been thrown into doubt after the powerful president of the Asian Football Confederation, Mohamed bin Hammam, told SBS at the weekend that he would not support the club remaining in the A-League past 2011, when FIFA's approval for the club to be treated as a "special case" expires.

The status of Wellington remains a complex issue - not only does the club reside in another country, but it also resides in another confederation following Australia's switch from Oceania to Asia in 2006. FIFA has permitted the unique arrangement because New Zealand, in particular, and Oceania in general, have no professional leagues of their own.

Bin Hammam's comments, which caught all of the interested parties by surprise, have brought a dilemma that had been bubbling beneath the surface back to the boil.

The core issue is whether Wellington should be classed as an Australian club based in New Zealand, or a New Zealand club playing in Australia. NZF chairman Frank van Hattum confirmed last night the national body was willing to hand over the licence to Serepisos if it helped to simplify the matter.

"When the Phoenix were formed [last year], the [Football Federation Australia] wanted us to have the licence - I guess to protect their interests - but Terry has proved to be a very capable owner, and it's not something we need to have," van Hattum said.

"At the moment we sublicense the franchise to the Phoenix, but if it makes a difference we would be more than willing to hand it over. We support Wellington Phoenix being in the A-League, because it's imperative for the development of New Zealand football."

Serepisos declined to comment last night, but Phoenix chief executive Tony Pignata made it clear the owner was investing for "the long haul", and wanted the issue of the club's status addressed "as soon as possible".

"I guess these comments could be the catalyst to find out exactly where we do fit in," Pignata said.

"We've already been through the process of reapplying for our licence [post-2011], and part of our submission to the FFA was to transfer the licence from New Zealand Football to Century City Football [a Serepisos company]. We view ourselves as an Aussie club which happens to reside in New Zealand. We want to be part of the A-League for the long haul, and we want to be part of Asia.

"In view of what's happened, this issue needs to be addressed once and for all, and it needs to be addressed quickly. You've got players, sponsors and fans, all wondering what's going on."

With the A-League about to expand, and there being more bidders than places, the concern for the Phoenix is how hard the FFA is prepared to fight to keep a New Zealand team in the competition. There have been some suggestions that the AFC wants rid of the Phoenix before they fill a qualifying spot for the Asian Champions League [awarded to the A-League minor premiers and champions], and therefore create a difficult precedent.

Whatever the case, the Phoenix have left it to the FFA to argue their case - for now. FFA chief executive Ben Buckley was reluctant to comment last night except to confirm that Wellington were guaranteed their place in the A-League until 2011, and he was "aware of the concerns raised by the president [bin Hammam]".

It is believed Buckley will seek more clarification at a series of Asian confederation meetings in Shanghai next week.

In the meantime, another body with a vested interest in the situation, the Oceania Football Confederation, is ready to lend its support to the Phoenix, with general secretary Tai Nicholas saying last night: "New Zealand is a member of Oceania, and New Zealand believe, as we believe, it is important to have a professional team in our region. We support the renewal of their [A-League] licence. FIFA have sanctioned it before, and we believe they can sanction it again. We'll definitely fight as hard as we can on their behalf."