SLIDING Roar crowds won’t deter Football Federation Australia from adding a second Brisbane team to the A-League when the time is right for competition expansion.

A bigger A-League, without promotion and relegation, was part of FFA’s Whole of Football Plan launched in Sydney on Tuesday.

The success of A-League derbies in Sydney and Melbourne has FFA adamant that a second Queensland team should be based in Brisbane rather than the Gold Coast or Townsville, where clubs have already been shut down.

There is also a feeling that a second Brisbane team would lead to the Roar lifting their own game, particularly off the field, in similar fashion to Sydney FC smartening up their operations since the birth of Western Sydney Wanderers in 2012.

Roar crowds were down this season, with the three-time A-League champions averaging 11,660 at Suncorp Stadium.

FFA chief executive officer David Gallop admitted the Roar had issues they needed to address and that the expansion route would be a measured one.

“The Roar have got a solid foundation but there’s still growth that they need to achieve for their own business model and ours,” Gallop told The Courier-Mail.

“But they will recognise the value of the derby down the track.

“You need to be cautious about expansion. Every code in the country has probably made mistakes.

“Having said that, there will be a point where we need to take that leap of faith and continue to grow our competition. Ultimately 10 teams isn’t where we want to be.”

Expansion will occur at the earliest in 2017, with A-League boss Damien de Bohun saying the priority was to consolidate the current 10 clubs.

“After that we’ll look to expand,” de Bohun said.

“There’s no question that Brisbane is a significant city in Australia, a big market and it will be one of the places we look at very seriously.

“Cities where there are millions of people makes a material difference, so Brisbane clearly falls into that category.

“There’s no question a derby in Brisbane would have a massive impact with crowds.”

Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou saw the value of a second Brisbane team.

“Having been up there I reckon there’d be an appetite for a Brisbane derby,” said Postecoglou, who coached the Roar to their first two titles.

“If anything it would keep the Roar on their toes and it will create more interest.”

Other aspects of the Whole of Football Plan, a 20-year vision for Australian football, include:

THE A-League being the most popular sporting competition in Australia

a football community numbering 15 million by 2035

AUSTRALIA hosting the 2023 Women’s World Cup

A combined total of 3000 elite male and female players aged from 12 to 19

LOWERING the cost of playing

BETTER quality coach education

BUILDING a football network within schools by educating and supporting teachers