An independently run A-League is a start.

It will allow FFA to focus on its key and core responsibility of producing players for the national teams.

“I’ve been an advocate of the A-League being run independently for a while. I’m glad that it’s finally happening,” Covic added.

“Let’s see where they can take the A-League. And give them the freedom to not be shackled and bring back the fans to really.

“If you’re trying to attract the sort of people who’ll front up, say, $15 million in Western United’s case, but you put so many restrictions on what they can and can’t do. 

"The freedom to market your club the best way possible – I always thought it would be difficult to convince someone to keep throwing money at it.

“Of course there has to be governance and FFA has to play a role in that respect, but to get the A-League back on track, we have to give clubs more responsibility to run things as they see fit.

“I see FFA meantime as really focusing now in the junior development sphere and focusing on national teams to help to produce the players we need. We need the national teams to be successful in the long run.

“And now, I’m hoping the FFA can look at some of these fees for registration at the grassroots level. We’re losing a lot of talent because of this exorbitant amount of fees at the junior level.

“I’m hoping in 10 years' time, we look back and say, ‘That was the best decision the game made’.”

According to government population projections (from intergenerational reports based on assumptions about future demographic trends about rates of fertility, mortality and net migration (incorporating current trends) and, by using different combinations of these assumptions), Australia’s population is set to increase from its current 24.6m to almost 36m by 2050.

Melbourne, in particular, is set for a huge boom.

By as early as 2028, it's projected to be Australia's biggest city.

By 2050, it will have grown to 8 million; the size of London and New York. It’s said to be the fourth fastest growing developed city on the planet.

A new A-League club in Melbourne’s West - Western United - is ideally placed to begin this rebirth of football.

Team 11 be across the bay in the booming south-east corridor in and around Dandenong is also well placed to continue the boom in Victoria.