It was a dream start to the week that may define Australia's football future as Football Federation Australia received a perfectly-timed boost to its sales pitch for the A-League.

A record crowd, bumper TV audience and near impeccable spectator behaviour kicked-off one of the most important weeks in the game's history as the governing body enters the next stage of discussions on the new broadcast deal.

Saturday night's Sydney A-League derby was the first triumph in the seven days of showcasing the game's potential. It continues with the Socceroos' World Cup qualifier against Japan on Tuesday – the first home qualifier to be televised live on Channel Nine – followed by Tim Cahill's A-League debut in the Melbourne derby on Saturday night.

An attendance of 61,880 set a new benchmark for not only domestic football in this country, but for any regular season derby match of all major codes in Sydney. The opening round of this season is also set to become the highest attended round in A-League history.