KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand Knights look likely to survive - but may not be an Auckland-based franchise any more.
Two groups of New Zealand-based investors have indicated their willingness to assume the three years left on the club's A-League licence.
But it seems almost certain the club
would be moved out of Auckland and would play around the country.
The first group, which seems to have the inside running, want the team to play at four venues, including Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, on a reasonably equal basis.
The second group, which has gained momentum in the past week, is believed to operate out of the capital. Wellington football identity and millionaire Dave Wilson, who runs the Ole Academy and originally bid for a second Wellington team in the NZFC, has been linked with the group.
New Zealand Soccer (NZS) chief executive Graham Seatter has alerted Football Federation of Australia head of operations Matt Carroll that two groups are interested in taking on the licence and Carroll is expected to meet both soon after the Knights' final game of the season against Perth Glory next Sunday.
Seatter said the time was now right for NZS to take a backward step, although the national body would be involved at board level and caretaker manager Ricki Herbert would almost certainly assume the job fulltime.
"Both groups want to work with us [NZS], both want Ricki involved and both want a high number of New Zealand players," Seatter said. "It's very exciting and we're exactly where we want to be."
He didn't rule out the two groups working together but thought it unlikely. A minimum of $2 million would be needed to take over the licence, topped up by $1.5 million from the FFA but at least $5 million is required to run the club properly.
The FFA originally set a deadline of January 31 for new owners to be found, soon after they stripped the previous owners of the licence last month for financial breaches.
Carroll was on holiday last week but an FFA spokesman said: "Based on feedback from Graham Seatter, we are confident New Zealand Soccer will find suitable investors in order to ensure the A-League franchise licence remains in New Zealand."
A professional team has been based in Auckland since the Kingz first played in the Australian league in 1999 but they did play some games in Wellington and Christchurch. The two biggest crowds the Kingz ever attracted were in Wellington, with the largest more than 13,000.
Playing throughout the country would ensure a 'New Zealandness' about the club and could allay any concerns over fan fatigue, although the season is relatively short by professional standards.
But any move is unlikely to be welcomed by Sky TV, who broadcast all the home games, and would have consequences on aspects such as season tickets.
"At this point, it's highly likely the club will be in existence but highly unlikely all the games will be played in Auckland," Seatter said.
"The best case scenario could see three games in Auckland, worst case none."
Herbert was open minded about having to shift out of Auckland.
"I'm in football and moving around happens often," he said. "I don't think it's a major issue but it's certainly something that I would have to discuss."
If the club survive, they will need to move swiftly to sign players.
None of the existing Knights squad have contracts beyond the end of the season, although Mark Paston, Noah Hickey, Leilei Gao and Jonas Salley would be priorities.
It's understood contact has been made with several All Whites playing overseas, including the likes of Ivan Vicelich, David Mulligan, Tony Lochhead, Glen Moss, Tim Brown and Steven Old, with positive results.
Vicelich still has a year left on his contract with RKC Waalwijk but the club is bottom of the Dutch premier division and could look favourably on granting Vicelich an early release if relegated.
