The Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy says it’s only a matter of time until the A-League expands to a 12-team competition and adopts a system of promotion and relegation.

In particular, he said the introduction of a multi-tier model was all but inevitable. “I think we should take that into consideration because eventually we will have to have promotion and relegation,” Lowy told Fox Sports. “In my estimation, we will be made to do that.”

Lowy said the FFA was being encouraged by the sport’s governing bodies to expand the competition. But he said they understood the process would take time and weren’t pressing too hard.

“They know that we have started, it will take time,” he said. “Nobody’s pressing us at the moment except ourselves.”

He said Australia and the United States are the only two countries in the world that do not employ a promotion and relegation structure. Two more teams should also be introduced by the time the current broadcast deal is replaced following the 2016-17 season, Lowy said. From there he said a 14-team competition could also be on the cards.

“That process is already underway,” Lowy explained. “Research is being made where and when should a new team be established throughout Australia.”

Wollongong, Canberra, Cairns and south-west Brisbane have all been touted as potential homelands for new A-League clubs. Lowy has previously predicted the sport’s popularity would double, if not triple, in the next decade.

The chairman – who has seen the Socceroos qualify for three consecutive World Cup finals during his tenure – will step down in November 2015.