While A-League revenue tumbles from dismal average attendances this season, which have been further hurt by poor television ratings, Gallop says FFA's hands are tied in revitalising the competition.

“People have to accept that affordability is a big issue,” he told Football Nation Radio (FNR).

“Our existing owners would like more money.

“We’ve been able to increase their grants to a certain extent over the last few years ... (that) has meant the ability to actually add teams hasn’t been easily apparent or doable."

In addition to distributing revenue to A-League club owners, FFA have also been forced to extend resources to prolonged discussions with other representative bodies in Australian football, over ongoing congress negotiations.

One of the major problems facing the governing body is the issue of implementing promotion and relegation into the A-league, which has been cited as a potential solution to the growing disinterest in the domestic competition.

However, in a catch-22-type scenario, Gallop says the financial position of some A-League clubs isn't stable enough to face relegation, and the potential costs in forming a second division would be too much for FFA to cover.

“People don’t like to hear it but affordability is unfortunately just part and parcel of what we do.

“The last thing the competition needs is a sixth game each week which is poor product,” Gallop said.

“We have to recognise that we’re in a competitive market ... affordability is going to hold back some of the things people want to see happen quickly.”