The A-League's most rowdy supporters will be cordoned off into special designated areas in a crackdown on unruly fans.

The key component of the new measures is a membership-only area for all home club active supporter areas for the season that kicks off on Friday 10 October.

All fans within the designated areas - likely to be the most vocal and rowdy - will need to have a valid pass.

Many supporter groups have expressed concern about the measures, claiming a clampdown on active supporters would curtail the spectacle during matches.

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"What we are saying unashamedly to our active supporter groups is 'you provide so much in terms of the atmosphere you bring to our games that you are part of the reason we are riding such a massive wave'," Gallop said after delivering an address on the state of the game at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.

"But we need to have safeguards in place to make sure that when there are isolated incidents when people don't want to do the right thing, we come down strongly to police that.

"And the best way to police that is to make sure those active supporter groups help us (to deal with) anyone who is there for the wrong reasons.

"The new protocols are strict but they are necessary and I think over time active supporter groups will come to realise that we are actually doing the right thing by the game."

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Click here for a transcript of the 'State of the Game' address

Gallop touched on the subject of the A-League's expansion.

"We obviously want to be bigger than a 10-team competition," he said.

"The rise in our revenue in the last two years through the new television deal and the general growth of the league have got a lot more clubs breaking even or even enjoying a profitable status.

"But we are not there yet and there are still some potholes which we need to fill so as to get ourselves to a point where we are truly sustainable with 10 teams.

"But this is an issue that will come up because a 10-team comp is not big enough."

Gallop acknowledged that some A-League clubs are struggling to make ends meet mainly due to "geographic and demographic issues."

"We don't have 10 green bottles on the wall all with equal opportunities," he said.

"We have 10 different opportunities and some are more challenging than others.

"Not everyone has the same market ... and when it comes to expansion I have already said that you need to fish where the fish are and go where the biggest opportunities exist.

"And the biggest opportunities are where millions of people live not hundreds of thousands."

Gallop also said the appointment of a new technical director to take over from departing Han Berger was close to being completed.

"We are at the pointy end of the recruitment process," he said.

"Hopefully I will be able to announce our new TD in the next few weeks.

"We are looking for someone who is experienced in youth pathways.

"We want to make sure that the technical network across our member federations is co-ordinated."