Just weeks after we celebrated a huge achievement at the top end of the game, effort is going into strengthening the foundation. The FFA doesn't always get things right, but Whitlam Square deserves to be congratulated for not letting the Asian Cup distract it from the business at hand. Gallop has just been given an extended contract and continues to proves he's worth every cent.

Thankfully, belatedly, structures are being put in place to rejuvenate lower-league football 38 years after state league competitions were swept into obscurity by Australia's first national sporting competition, the NSL. There are great possibilities.

Ratings for last year's inaugural FFA Cup delighted, and surprised, many observers. Four blue-chip sponsors were brave enough to gamble on the potential. This year, the NPL competitions across eight states and territories will get their first naming rights sponsor, Sony. Get things right and the interest, and the money, will follow.

Fox Sports is so enamoured with the FFA Cup it is sending a camera to the Mornington Peninsula to cover the first qualifier of 2015 between Rosebud Heart and Old Ivanhoe Grammar. Speaking of schools, The Armidale School from northern NSW have entered their first XI to show how much the magic of the cup has evolved in such a short time.

It's not beyond imagination that the NPL play-offs - which bring the various state champions together in September-October to determine who, in effect, will be second-division champions of Australia - will one day have television coverage as well. Playing this year's final as an A-League curtain-raiser would be a smart move to open the door.