Ahead of the three match Everton Down Under series, Cahill said the fact that English Premier League sides now want to come to Australia to play showed how much the game had changed.

"Only 11 years ago, the Socceroos were still playing English club sides," Cahill told thepunch.com.au.
"But today, EPL and other overseas league sides want to come to Australia for their pre-season competition and meet A-League teams."

The Everton Down Under series involves matches against Sydney FC, Melbourne Heart and Brisbane Roar.

Cahill dismissed suggestions that such visits are primarily a marketing strategy for the EPL teams.

"There are many more marketing dollars to be made in the USA or Asia for teams such as Everton [compared with Australia]," he said.

"What it shows is that the A-League is gaining credibility, recognition and respect for its competitiveness and quality."

He singled out New Zealand's performance at the World Cup as an example of the improvement of the A-League.

And Cahill said Everton are looking forward to three competitive matches against "quality sides" and confirmed he will be playing in both the Sydney and Melbourne games.

The Everton squad is a full-strength squad, other than those players who have been involved for their countries at the World Cup.

The team is led by former England international and Everton captain Phil Neville and contains Everton's own multicultural melting pot including Russian international Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, French man Louis Saha, Spaniard Mikel Arteta, Belgian international Marouane Fellaini - as well as graduates of Everton's youth development system such as Leon Osman and Phil Jagielka.

The matches will be held next Saturday against Sydney FC at ANZ Stadium; on July 14 against Melbourne Heart at Etihad Stadium; and on July 17 against Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium.

Tickets are available from Ticketek (Sydney and Brisbane games) or Ticketmaster (Melbourne game).