NZ Football CEO Andy Martin says their TV deal with Sky Sport to screen the ASB Premiership could benefit the Phoenix in the future.

New Zealand Football chief executive Andy Martin is not shying away from the All Whites' dire international programme but he remains optimistic they are on the right track.

New Zealand head into next Friday's friendly against Oman in Muscat having played just four internationals over the past 12 months – equal lowest of nations in the top 150 of the Fifa world rankings, alongside the Central African Republic, Dominican Republic and Benin.

Along with the fact that they haven't won an international for more than two years, it is the main reason why the team has slumped to a record low ranking of 148.

But as All Whites coach Anthony Hudson continues their preparations for the Oceania Nations Cup in Papua New Guinea next May, Martin says building their limited schedule is a top priority.

"We want to play games in every window, in the past that hasn't been the case and we're starting to ramp up those games now," he said. "We want to play home games and again that's a challenge as well."

NZF is talking to a number of parties for the March window, which will be crucial for the All Whites' quest for glory in Papua New Guinea to earn a place at the 2017 Confederations Cup.

The biggest hurdle to getting the national side together on a regular basis is funding, an issue Martin says he is trying to address with various stakeholders, including Sport New Zealand.

But he insists it is no overnight fix.

"The new administration's been in just over 12 months and everybody was pretty aware of the challenge that we're facing," Martin said. "We were mindful we came in to an All Whites report back in the beginning of 2014 that was pretty damning about the situation of the international programme and we'll just get about fixing that and building credibility about what we do with the players."

Football's credibility in this country is at an all-time low following the national under-23 side's disqualification from the Olympics qualifying tournament and uncertainty surrounding the Wellington Phoenix's future in the A-League.

The 'Oly Whites' were disqualified from the Pacific Games in July for playing South African-born defender Deklan Wynne, who was deemed to be ineligible, while their bid to have the decision overturned was dismissed by the Oceania Football Confederation's appeals committee.

Martin said a decision on whether they will take further action, including a possible appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, will be made "very soon".

As for the Phoenix, the loss of the professional outfit would be a devastating blow to the game in this country and NZF are continuing to work with owners the Welnix group to find a solution after the club was denied a 10-year extension to their A-League licence by Football Federation Australia.

One of the few positives for NZF has been the deal with Sky Sport to screen at least two matches of the ASB Premiership a week.

And Martin is hopeful the Phoenix will still be around to benefit from the domestic league's increased exposure.

"It's critical that this league works and everybody drives standards so that we get people to choose and buy football," he said. "In a strange sort of way if we get more people buying into the domestic product there will be a knock-on effect to the Phoenix because more people will start to understand the sport and therefore at the highest levels of sport in this country they will be watching the Phoenix."

The ASB Premiership kicks off on Sunday at 4.35pm with defending champions Auckland City up against neighbours Waitakere United at QBE Stadium.