Sydney's Graham Arnold was the most vocal of all coaches on the matter, saying he had been warning the FFA for almost a decade of the need to obey the FIFA dates or risk seeing heavily depleted sides playing. The FFA quietly side-stepped the matter last week, eventually coming out to address the matter – in part – when the Sky Blues threatened to play the ineligible Terry Antonis, who had been originally selected for the Socceroos before withdrawing with injury. Now they want it known that commercial realities make it virtually impossible for them to take a weekend off, especially at a prime time when the other codes are out of their domestic seasons. FFA chief executive David Gallop said there was too much at stake each week to be pausing when A-League clubs are rarely affected as badly as clubs from the major leagues in Europe. "The commercial reality for our owners who heavily invest in their clubs is that stopping the A-League for FIFA windows will adversely affect our broadcast value," he said. "That's less money coming into the game. That affects the sustainability of the A-League and its clubs, and puts future expansion at risk."

David White, former Ten network head of sport, now managing director Australia for World Sports Group, believes commercial television networks will be scared away by the prospect of an inconsistent schedule. "Broadcasters value consistently in scheduling and fixturing. People have got to know when the matches are on and they tend to develop a regular viewing pattern based on what they're used to," he told Fairfax Media. "As the season goes on and gathers momentum, and there's an expectation that as interest, ratings and commercial interest builds, you'll be able to provide that consistent content. "To put a pause in the season threatens to disrupt the interest and expectations that viewers, advertisers and commercial stakeholders have. It can take a while to get going again. From a broadcasters point of view, any break would be very detrimental to value." White said that although it was common elsewhere in the world to obey FIFA dates, he didn't think it should automatically be applied here. "I wouldn't say that just because other countries do break for FIFA dates that it's the right thing for their domestic leagues, either," he said. "I would suggest that if there are breaks in their domestic leagues then the broadcasters will have factored in the loss of value accordingly."

With commercial television budgets already stretched to existing commitments, White warned the FFA, while in charge of a product with "enormous potential", needed to be aware of marketplace sensitivities. "Here in Australia we have a unique situation of massive competition in professional sports but with a limited population to go with it," he said. "AFL, NRL, Super Rugby and cricket all take their slice of television money and sponsor dollars. Football is clearly the emerging sport – there is no doubt about that – with tremendous momentum, but I think it would be a foolish move to break the momentum the A-League currently has."

