Leading the charge - predictably - is the City Football Group, the new owners of Melbourne City. CFG gets its money from Abu Dhabi, and circulates it via Manchester City. It is at Eastlands where the big football decisions are made. Through the prism of the English Premier League, and all it surveys.

CFG wants to roll out the EPL template in Australia, but at first base it needs the other owners onside. So it has organised a pow-wow in Abu Dhabi to show the way. The way to where, exactly?

The EPL is a marketing triumph but a financial disaster - generating more debt than the rest of European football combined. Among the worst culprits are Manchester City, who just this year were fined £49 million ($88 million) for breaching the new Financial Fair Play rules. Money, clearly, is not a problem for CFG, but it is for many other A-League clubs. Some of the owners who've gathered in Abu Dhabi need to be careful - very careful - what they wish for.

At the heart of this, of course, is who should control the A-League. This is not a new debate. Gradually, over recent years, the FFA has loosened its grip. It had to. There was a distinct lack of understanding, and respect, for the owners from head office for many years.

Incrementally, the clubs have been given more freedom, and since the new broadcast deal they've certainly been given more money. For some clubs, though, it's still not enough. For the likes of CFG, it will never be enough. They want the league owned and run by the clubs, and not the governing body. The argument being this will liberate untold opportunities and riches, just like it has in the EPL.