What happens if the Wellington Phoenix qualify for the Asian Champions League?

Question

What happens if the Wellington Phoenix qualify for the Asian Champions League?

Generally, the minor and major premiers of the Australian A-League competition qualify for the Asian Football Confederations (AFC) Champions League. However, there is a club from New Zealand playing in the competition, the Wellington Phoenix. New Zealand are not part of the AFC they are part of the Oceania confederation.

So what happens if the Wellington Phoenix from Oceania, qualify for the Asian Champions league??

Answer 1

good question, but it's really not relevant, at least for a few years.

Answer 2

agreed

cant see wellington qualifying

Answer 3

Firstly, I don't see them doing so for a loooong time. Secondly, the shelf life for NZ franchises in Australian leagues is very minimal, so another team might pop up if the Phoenix aren't going too well and they'll have their 'initial' 4-5 year struggle.. Finally, the Phoenix is actually categorised as an Australian team. I can remember in the first A-League season when the NZ Knights weren't allowed to play in an A-League knockout tournament for the qualification of the Club World Championships and they weren't allowed to qualify for Asia either. That meant that they couldn't play in Australia or in Oceania where I believe Auckland CIty went on to qualify for the Club World Championship. This was rectified which now means that if the Phownix win the A-League or are minor premiers, they will go to Asia because they are technically a representative 'from Australia'. However, they cannot enter any competitions in NZ or Oceania.

Answer 4

Can't see this ever really becoming an issue - can you??