“The A-League is expanding so quick. Rugby league, union and AFL are always looking over their shoulders,” Griffiths told au.fourfourtwo.com.

“The finals series looks massive with so many rival teams playing each other with a state of origin feel to Queensland and Sydney, and of course this F3 derby.

“It's all great for the league and not only for this year, but for next year and the following years."

The FFA confirmed that expansion will happen - it's just a matter of when. But Griffiths feels that would force the issue of free-to-air A-League coverage.

“You've got new clubs coming in – maybe." he said. "And it's good to expand because that's what we need.

“Now we need a free-to-air deal on Seven, Nine or Ten. That's the cherry on the cake, isn't it.”

Currently, the A-League is available live on Foxtel's Fox Sports channel as part of a seven-year, $130 million deal with the FFA launched when the league kicked off in 2005.

And Fox Sports have been happy with the arrangement. They trumpeted the success of the league again this week by claiming a 23% increase in ratings.

Round 21’s Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory match ranked as Fox Sports' most watched regular season game in the history of the competition, claimed the channel, reaching a total audience of more than 370,000 and with average audiences of 136,000.

This year more than 2.8 million viewers have watched Fox Sports' regular season coverage, added the broadcaster.

David Malone, CEO of Fox Sports, said: “The success of the A-League on Fox Sports and the closeness of the Premiership is indicative of a very healthy competition.

"We’re confident this level interest will continue in the coming weeks and look forward to some more fantastic ratings results throughout the Finals Series.”

Griffiths agreed Fox Sports have been integral to the game's growth, but he hopes the FFA can strike a deal at some point in the future that adds to the current arrangements with a free-to-air broadcaster.

“There's about 25% of people who have Foxtel, the other 75% that's where we should be looking now,” said Griffiths.

“One game a week, whatever the main game is, free-to-air and live. It's got to be live.

"Look at Rugby League, obviously they are supported by the Packers, so it's always interesting to see how they go about their business. And I think that's what we need.

“Fox Sports have been great this year and in all the three seasons but I think Fox know that if we want to take the code further, whether that be two years or five years down the track, I don't know...

“We do need Fox, the coverage has been magnificent but we've still got a long way to go.”

Griffiths added: “It won't happen overnight, but hopefully it will happen.”