After 10 years of hiding the past of the game in the darkest corners, Football Federation Australia has shown the greatest respect to the former National Soccer League clubs and players by restoring their history in contemporary records. The individual and club statistics of the first national football league of any code has finally been amalgamated with the 11 seasons of the A-League thus far to create the first national league record book since the collapse of the NSL.

Like oil and water, church and state, the statistics of the two competitions were kept separate at every opportunity. Since the start of the A-league in 2005, details from the first national competition in Australia were purged as only A-League records became noted, mentioned and referenced but all that has now changed.

After hiding from football's past, the FFA has finally embraced the history of the game in recent years, bringing back the traditional white socks to the national team uniform and acknowledging trailblazers from previous decades. The establishment of the FFA Cup was more of a swing rope back to the past than a bridge, though the firm acknowledgement of all achievements dating back to 1977 is the greatest show of respect to the origins of the game and those that built the foundations.

"There were so many champion players and Socceroo legends in the National Soccer League, it's natural and appropriate that FFA would publicly record the achievements," an FFA spokesperson said. "This season's media guide for the Hyundai A-League carries extensive NSL records to recognise the pioneers of football in Australia. The lists of key individual stats of games played and goals scored have also been compiled by combining NSL and A-League matches."