Despite the talk of last-minute pleas and delays, one thing is for certain and that is in the early hours of Saturday morning, Australian time, Fifa will have a new president.

Far less clear is what follows and, from an Australian perspective, perhaps far more important is what the likely ripple effect will be within their own confederation.

Asian Football Confederation president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, is the prohibitive favourite to win the vote ahead of the Uefa general secretary, Gianni Infantino, and has been for many months.

If he does succeed, that creates a power vacuum within Asia and the lobbying has been whirling away at a furious pace across five-star hotels and assorted smoky bar-rooms for the better part of half a year as to who replaces the Bahraini royal as the head of the AFC.

This, far more than who helms Fifa, should be the end game for Football Federation Australia, and the change in their PR tack is noticeable compared to the previous vote in May last year.

Then, FFA publicly backed the candidature of the Jordanian, Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein, against Sepp Blatter and it has cost them dearly within the darkened hallways of Asian football.

For better or worse, football dealings throughout Asia are conducted (much as any other business concerns are) on the basis of familiarity and congeniality.

To be seen and to see, not to turn up late or not at all to meetings, to fall asleep in others, to moan about the standard of hotel rooms and to display what is perceived continent-wide as an arrogance and superiority.

Whether FFA knows it or not, this is the way the vast majority of the Asian football hierarchy views Australia.

So when, after the AFC publicly declared their wholesale backing for Blatter in May and Frank Lowy announced his support for Prince Ali on the eve of the vote, it went down as you would expect – as the newcomers bucking the view of the establishment.

It was, according to multiple sources, the final straw in a strained relationship that several believe will lead to a vote on the expulsion of Australia from the AFC within the next decade.

Others suggest that the kingmaker in Asian sporting politics, Sheikh Ahmad Al Sabah, from Kuwait (a nation that has long opposed Australia’s place in Asia) rather covets Australia as he’d like to see them participate in another sporting spectacle he holds sway over, the Asian Games.

Regardless, with the AFC publicly backing their president in the five-horse race this time around, it has been noticeable to see the complete lack of backing for any candidate from FFA.

They will still vote for Prince Ali in the first round, where he is expected to be eliminated, but then offer their support in subsequent rounds to Sheikh Salman.

Back the horse you like and have a bit on the home-track favourite too.

Prince Ali, for all the fantastic work he has done across Asia, has limited support in the region and may struggle to garner more than 10 votes, meaning FFA must tread carefully as they seek to play the game within their own region.

And play it they must; to build trust, to further the interests of their club sides and national teams at all levels and simply to ensure their survival in a region that if they were to leave could see the complete unravelling of the game.

So, just as, if not more, important as who they back for the Fifa presidency, is who they will support as the man to rule Asia for the coming years.

If, as expected, Sheikh Salman wins the Fifa vote then the AFC will hold an election later this year to choose his successor with the short-term problem being that the man who should assume that role in an interim capacity, the senior vice-president, China’s Zhang Jilong, had a stroke recently and is unable to take over.

The list of likely candidates vying for the role include Sheikh Ahmad himself, Malaysia’s Prince Tengku Abdullah, Chung Mong-gyu of South Korea, Japan Football Association president, Kozo Tashima, and India’s Praful Patel.

Note the absence of any Australian names on that list; in fact notice the absence of Australians on the majority of AFC bodies. Ten years after joining the confederation there are only four Australians on the 13 AFC standing committees and not one of those serve in a senior role.

While the football world at large is distracted by just who will be tasked with reforming Fifa (and most have missed the point that in the endemically corrupt game, change needs to start at the bottom not the top) much of Asia is already pre-occupied with a different vote, one that doesn’t even have a fixed date yet.

For the future of the game in Australia it’s vital the nation’s ruling body, with its green leader, learns fast how to navigate these choppy waters.