Football bodies throughout the world have struggled to reconcile the perceived conflict between running a successful domestic league and protecting the interests of the national team. The new structure to be adopted in Australia will see the A-League clubs responsible for the development and commercialisation of the leading mens, women and youth leagues, whilst the FFA will focus on the national team and grass roots development. 

Crucially, the FFA will retain a financial interest in the A-league, including an entitlement to a multi-million dollar annual contribution and 10% of sales of future club licences. It will also enjoy a 20% share in the new league entity. In short, if the A-league prospers the FFA will receive more revenue to fund the national team and invest in the future of the game.

It will be interesting to see if the regulatory alignment between the two bodies in areas such as home grown player requirements and player release can be equally complementary, but if so, the future of Australian football looks less likely to be blighted by turf wars and infighting thereby enhancing the prospects of producing a compelling domestic league, successful national team and a pipeline of talent for benefit of the sport in Australia as a whole.