Expansion, a second division and promotion and relegation will come to the A-League.
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Eventually.
But David Gallop, the FFA CEO, can't tell you when or where.
It all depends on the broadcast deal that Gallop and his executives can negotiate with Fox Sports, any other pay TV operator, a free-to-air network, or a combination of any two or three.
Gallop acknowledges that the demand for radical change is growing and can no longer be ignored.
But he cannot, or will not, give any commitments, including a timetable, to major renovation of the A-League until he knows how much cash is in the broadcasting kitty, money that is desperately needed to underwrite the existing A-League clubs.
"There are steps along the way and we need to take a disciplined approach to that. Certainly 10 teams is too few. We want to move to 12 teams relatively quickly," he told reporters at the A-League launch in Sydney on Tuesday.
"But the first step in that is some big commercial deals that the game is looking to do.
"The ultimate prize of promotion and relegation will happen in Australian football, but there's a lot more that needs to happen before we sensibly move to promotion and relegation.
"I think with the introduction of the NPL system and the FFA Cup you can see that deliberate steps have been made to close the gap between the A-League and the rest of the game."
Gallop would not be pinned down on a timetable, saying "its right that we be ambitious, but right that we take a disciplined approach".
"Importantly people need to know that they are on the horizon. They are not being dismissed and I think the groundwork that is being done at the moment will put us in a good position to make those things successful when they do happen."
But before the likes of South Melbourne, Sydney United or any of the traditional clubs pushing for a place at the top table or to be foundation members of the second tier get too excited, Gallop stressed that there were other jobs that needed to be done first.
"Sustainability into the existing 10 clubs, moving to a 12-team competition, investing in the tier below through things like the NPL and FFA Cup and ultimately moving to a situation where promotion and relegation can happen," he said.
"I would see expansion coming first. I would have thought the first step was to get beyond the 10 teams we have got.
"It could happen [within four years], but let's get some commercial deals in place, have a look at the size of the pie and then assess the suitability of moving quicker to an expanded competition.
"A road map that puts us in that position could be two, three or four years."
Some will argue that Gallop's vague assurances of a bigger, more incentivised league are merely motherhood statements designed to shut down the advocates of radical change, critics who are gaining wider traction in the mainstream media.
But the FFA boss says he is serious, pointing out that research work has been done on establishing where the best places for expansion would be; existing population bases, cities or towns that are likely to have relatively quick success in being established and be in areas where the FFA's commercial and broadcast partners are going to see a benefit. There is likely to be a be strong push for Adelaide and Brisbane to get two teams to build rivalries and grow the market there with the existing clubs, Brisbane Roar and champions Adelaide United.
"Its making sure that people realise that it is on the horizon. But let's get some commercial deals done. Let's drive some commercial sustainability into the 10 teams we have already got, let's get beyond the 10 teams we have already got, and then let's assess what needs to be sensibly done to move towards promotion and relegation because at the moment we all accept there's a lot more that would have to happen before you could move to that system."
There has also been plenty of speculation that club owners, angry at what they see as inertia from head office in growing the league, are contemplating breaking away and controlling their own destiny.
The FFA boss fired a warning shot across their bows.
"A fully separated A-League is not on our agenda at the moment. We are certainly putting more resources into the A-League, we fully recognise that it's the engine room for the whole game, but a fully separate A-League is not on our agenda at the moment."
The FFA has talked of wanting to double the existing $40 million a year TV rights deal, but Gallop will not be a hostage to fortune on a dollar figure in the upcoming talks.
"We are keen to go into the market and test our value. We are selling a different package this time, a package that doesn't include some of the big Socceroos matches, the Asian Cup, the Asian Champions League.
"One of the benefits of doing that deal will be that we will have more precision around the actual value of the A-League. At the moment there is a lot of subjective estimates going into working the value out ... a new deal will give us a better view of what the A-League is worth. What we are selling this time is not what we sold last time."
