Wellington Phoenix asked Football Federation Australia Tuesday to explain its refusal to grant the club a 10-year licence, as fans launched a campaign to keep the New Zealanders in the A-League.

Phoenix supporters were stunned when FFA announced its decision late Monday, with former striker Paul Ifill labelling it "a slap in the face".

"It says to me that they don't want us in the league, it's that simple," he told Radio New Zealand.

"Other teams have been given a 20-year licence extension (despite being) run very poorly and propped up by the FFA."

Phoenix's current licence expires at the end of the 2015-16 season and it had been pushing for a 10-year extension, although FFA said Monday that the best it could expect was four years.

The club said last week that the owners would not have the incentive to make major investments under a short-term deal.

It has been tight-lipped about Monday's decision, saying it was "seeking greater clarity around the reasons for rejection of the proposal".

The club said Phoenix were "making a material and positive contribution" to the A-League and "will continue to negotiate in good faith with the FFA".

Australian media reports say FFA is keen to ditch Phoenix and replace it with a third team in the lucrative Sydney market.

Ifill said FFA appeared determined to drop Wellington and a four-year extension would merely represent a stay of execution.

"It simply gives them time to get somebody else ready and then they're saying we'll be out of it anyway," he said.

However, fans have vowed not to give up, the hashtag #Savethenix was trending on Twitter in New Zealand and Australia, while an online petition had attracted almost 4,000 signatures late Tuesday.

The Yellow Fever supporters' group also launched a membership drive.

Phoenix, New Zealand's only professional football team, struggles with small crowds but is generally regarded as well run and competitive on the field.

The club is in an unusual position -- it is not only in a different country to other A-League clubs but also a different regional federation, Oceania, not Asia.