Daisuke Nakanishi liked the idea of grand finals so much he took them back to Japan. Next week the boss of the J-League will sign a formal partnership with the A-League to develop concepts, exchange expertise and strengthen ties. There's some exciting plans, which we'll get to in moment. In the meantime Nakanishi san will attend Sunday's grand final in Adelaide, more convinced than ever that the Australian way of deciding championships is the way to go. The world game following Australia's lead? Now that doesn't happen too often.

Nakanishi will bring his delegation to Adelaide towards the end of grand final week, but he already knows what to expect. The managing director of the J-League was also here for last season's title-decider in Melbourne - an experience which firmed up his belief that Japan should also introduce end-of-season play-offs. Last season, for the first time, the J-League ran a finals series, and now Nakanishi is hooked. "They've been across here a few times studying how we conduct our finals system," says the Head of International Relations for Football Federation Australia, Mark Falvo. "They've obviously got the same system now in Japan, and I think they're pretty happy with how things have worked out."

So, too, is the FFA. As the A-League starts to look beyond the horizon and develop strategies for the long-term, there's no better role model than Japan. So here's the good news. No, make that great news. The day after the grand final, the A-League and the J-League will sign a Memorandum of Understanding to see what other mutual benefits a closer relationship can bring. It's the first time the A-League has signed an official partnership with another Asian league. Iran could be next, but right now Japan is the perfect place to start.

There are many facets to the MoU, but undoubtedly the most imaginative is a joint marquee fund. Yep, you heard that right. As both competitions struggle to compete - or simply don't want to compete - with the extraordinary sums being paid by the UAE, Qatar and China for big-name foreigners, they're looking at joining forces. "The idea is to co-invest in players and share them across the two leagues," says Falvo. Half a season in Japan, the other half in Australia. For players who are not entirely focused on money - the sort of players you really want to see - that's an attractive proposition.