Rising A-League television ratings means FFA aims to more than double its $40 million a year TV revenues when the next broadcast deal is struck, potentially boosting rights fees as high as $100 million a year.

That has Gallop convinced the round-ball game will inevitably become more popular than its rival football codes as well as cricket.

"We are the sport that is available to everyone," Gallop told 3AW on Tuesday. "Yes, other sports are too but there is something about football.

"Toddlers are now playing the game as well as over 45-year-olds. Also with 20 percent of players now female, it is now available to everyone which no other sport can match."

Tuesday marks one year in the top job for Gallop and brings with it good news. The latest audit of football participation reveals almost 2 million Australians are actively involved in the game as players, coaches or match officials.

Participation is up 13% ion a previous survey in 2010, which tallied 1.7 million people involved with the game. The survey result confirms football's status as the No. 1 team participation sport in Australia.

While AFL is by far the most attended sport, statistically cricket is considered the most popular because it is followed in every state.

About a third of Australia's 13 million sports fans are estimated to follow cricket, with tennis close behind (29 per cent).

"Cricket is national but it doesn't have the diversity that football has," Gallop told 3AW. "Cricket is far more a male sport with a few females playing.

"But it is football that has got the huge growth in female participation."

Does Gallop mean most watched or most played?

"I think a bit of both," he said. "We are a long way off beating the crowds in other sports but I do believe it will happen. It is a fact as the world gets smaller, football gets bigger.

"It's not going to happen tomorrow but it will happen.

"By the year 2020, there will be 400,000,000 people playing football in Asia and we're going to be part of it."

Gallop's upbeat vision for his code comes as the AFL continues to step up its push to remain the nation's premier sport.

Cricket is also set for a boom summer with a closely fought Ashes Test series expected.

A key part of the AFL strategy is to continue to dominate the media during summer months.

The dates and times of several matches in the AFL fixture released this month have been deliberately scheduled to clash with NRL and the A-League's marquee matches.

The league's national draft will be held on the Gold Coast next Thursday night - the same date as the opening day of the first Ashes Test.

The lengthening of trade week is another example of what FFA is up against, with talk of player movement now, conveniently for the AFL, in the news for an entire month since it was expanded last year.

Meanwhile, speaking about the latest audit figures Gallop said: “The game's simple beauty and reliance on skill rather than collisions makes it a natural choice for so many people in so many places.

“It’s the popular game for boys, girls, old and young, who are playing outdoor, indoor, in parks and fields and in clubs and schools. Football is flourishing across the Australian community and we’re delighted.”

The gemba Active Sports Participation study (gASP), which surveys the Australian population between the age of 5 and 75, reveals that 960,000 people participate in organised football competitions, while another 1 million play in social, recreational and semi-organised ways.

“Football has always had a huge playing base, but now the popularity is spilling over to the attendances, TV ratings and digital audiences for the Hyundai A-League and the Socceroos," Gallop added.

“Today, the powerful idea that football could become Australia's biggest and most popular sport overall is no longer just a dream. It’s starting to happen in significant steps forward.”