Football Federation Australia needs to secure an increase in the next cycle of media-rights income for the A-League in order to support the expansion of the domestic top tier, according to chief executive David Gallop.
Gallop (pictured) said that the FFA is hoping to expand from 10 to 12 teams and invest in a competitive second tier in order to create a promotion-and-relegation system.
The FFA has previously indicated that it is hoping to double its annual rights income for the A-League to A$80m (€55m/$61m) in the next cycle, which will begin next season.
"There are steps along the way and we need to take a disciplined approach to that. Certainly 10 teams is too few. We want to move to 12 teams relatively quickly," Gallop said.
"It could happen (within four years), but let's get some commercial deals in place, have a look at the size of the pie and then assess the suitability of moving quicker to an expanded competition.”