TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to highlight the circumstances preventing the Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand's only professional football team, from participating in the Asian Champion's League.Design/methodology/approach– A single case study approach has been adopted to generate rich data designed to aid understanding of the complexities of multi‐level governance, feature of international football governance.Findings– The key conclusions of this research are that the Phoenix is attracted to the Asian football market because of the financial rewards but are prevented in doing so because of policies related to Fédération Internationale de Football Association's confederation structures.Research limitations/implications– It is hoped that this paper will encourage more academics to investigate: the extent to which football's governance structures act as either a facilitating or constraining factor to the growth of football in the region; the possible convergence between Asian and Pacific sporting economies; how other Asian sporting organisations are reacting to increasing interest from non‐Asian organisations in accessing their marketplaces; and the performance of a network and its members when subjected to multiple levels of governance.Originality/value– The originality of this paper lies in its proposition that conflict within an international strategic alliance is likely to be exacerbated when the alliance is characterised by multiple levels of governance. Further originality is offered through the introduction of the term covalent organisation, to describe those sport organisations that are subjected to multiple levels of governance.
VL  - 22
IS  - 1
SN  - 1355-5855
DO  - 10.1108/13555851011013191
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/13555851011013191
AU  - Dickson Geoff
AU  - Phelps Sean
AU  - Waugh Daniel
ED  - Vanessa Ratten
ED  - Rodoula Tsiotsou
PY  - 2010
Y1  - 2010/01/01
TI  - Multi‐level governance in an international strategic alliance: The plight of the Phoenix and the Asian football market
T2  - Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 111
EP  - 124
Y2  - 2024/04/23
ER  -