THE impending arrival of a Gold Coast team has many fans wondering about the future of the A-League. It's a case of fear and loathing versus excitement and cautious optimism.

Clive Palmer expects his team to one day challenge the giants of Europe and South America. But is that realistic? Can our A-league ever reach the dizzy heights of the Premier League or Serie A? If so, how long might this take, and how can it best be achieved?

Even the lowest teams this season are still just two wins off a top-four place. This artificial competitiveness is largely due to the limited number of clubs in the A-League today, plus the levelling influence of the salary cap.

By 2011, however, we can expect to see another four to six teams, including the Gold Coast and North Queensland, plus second teams for Sydney and Melbourne. The A-League's salary cap is likely to increase beyond next season's $2 million, and the number of imports per team may also increase.

An expanded league with higher salaries and more star players will be good for everybody in the long run, but clubs who sink to the bottom of the ladder will find it harder to claw their way back up again.

To challenge for honours in years to come, clubs without wealthy, indulgent sponsors will need to either pull in big crowds, or win some lucrative competitions, or both. This is where laws of natural attrition will kick in, and the FFA will have to make some hard decisions about how much artificial competitiveness they want to maintain.

Some questions that will need to be answered:

1. How big do we want the A-League to grow?
2. Should we introduce a relegation system?
3. Should we abandon the salary cap altogether?
4. Do we want an FA Cup-style elimination competition providing an additional source of funds?
5. Must we embrace free-to-air television in order to attract bigger crowds?

I see two main ingredients required for ever-expanding A-League growth - more money, and a growing pool of local talent. Each of these needs to expand exponentially over coming years, with two feedback loops in play:

(a) To grow the pool of local talent, you need to invest in kids at the grassroots level. This will help build increased public interest, which means bigger crowds, which means more money, which can be used to grow the pool of local talent.

(b) Similarly, better players and FTA coverage will help attract bigger crowds, which can lead to more money, which pays for better players and reduces the need for restrictive pay TV contracts.

It's not rocket science, but it is going to require careful consideration, vigilance and innovation from the FFA. If things are done properly, the looming impact of teams like the Gold Coast should be a big step towards an ever-improving A-League.

Can we sports-mad Aussies make it all the way to the top of the football world? Yes we can!


Gary Lord is the proud 40-something father of two budding Socceroo boys and a Baby Matilda.