David Beckham (L) will not be back to play the Phoenix. Photo / Getty Images
The failure of David Beckham Part II has not put off the Wellington Phoenix from playing other exhibition matches and they are in talks with a handful of top British clubs including Celtic.
Phoenix owner Terry Serepisos had initially planned to bring out Beckham again early next year
after the tremendous success of his first visit 12 months ago.
But the Auckland Regional Council's decision to bring him out for last weekend's match against the Oceania All Stars prompted Serepisos to change his mind.
He now has his sights set on the UK and has been in talks with agents from clubs about games.
"I wanted to bring back Beckham and the LA Galaxy next year but the Auckland Regional Council jumped on it... and killed the moment," he said. "I won't be bringing David back next year, although I haven't ruled it out in the future.
"There are teams that have approached us and are talking to us, like Celtic, and some top teams in the English Premiership. Maybe next year.
"There are also talks of Eden Park, when that's all up and running, of bringing a Premiership team here to play the Phoenix. There are great opportunities for us in the future.
"But whatever we do, it has to be right. We have been offered the likes of Juventus and Olympiakos from Greece but I didn't think they would work. In New Zealand, they need to be clubs people have seen a lot of in the English Premiership."
Serepisos said he would piggyback a tour by a top team to Australia, meaning he could share costs with Australian counterparts.
The Oceania Football Confederation have also not been put off by the failure of last week's Beckham match.
OFC general secretary Tai Nicholas said they hoped a composite Oceania side would play annually but that any future games would be done in a Fifa window so they could attract the best players.
"We would love to play a visiting team from Europe, the All Whites or a Fifa World XI," Nicholas said. "But the timing has to be right and we would be cautious because of costs."
