*The vexed question of expansion to grow the sport, which has been stalled for several years; *The governance of the game, with Di Pietro claiming A-League clubs were no longer going to settle for a muted voice in the way the sport is administered and run; *The marketing of soccer, which he argued had fallen behind and needed to be stepped up if the game was to build on the levels of fan and community engagement it had built in the years since the A-League's inception in 2005. Numerous clubs have gone bust, out of business or been forced into administration with owners collectively losing hundreds of millions of dollars since the A-League kicked off and Di Pietro, on behalf of his fellow chairmen in the audience – which included Melbourne City's Simon Pearce and Adelaide's Greg Griffin – stressed that clubs needed proper compensation for their initial investment and to recoup losses. "The time for change is now upon us, " Di Pietro said. "Decisions made now will affect the future of football in Australia for years to come.

"Melbourne Victory supports expansion [of the A-League]. More teams will bring more competition and more broadcast games and more revenue to grow the game. Derbies are a proven winning way to pack stadiums [and generate media and fan interest]." His remarks on derbies may well be significant given that Victory already enjoys a healthy rivalry with Melbourne City. There are several Victorian consortia – South Melbourne, the old NSL powerhouse, the Geelong-based Victoria Patriots and the South East Melbourne/Dandenong/Casey group all circling and looking to establish their case for a third Victorian-based licence. There is also talk of potential bids in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane which, if successful, could create fresh rivalries and add to the A-League's tally of derbies in the future. But, Di Pietro added: "We must make sure that any new licences do not compromise the marketability or integrity of the competition" – a clear reference to the fact that the league, in this phase of its development, cannot afford any fiscal failures or clubs going broke, as has happened in the past. Urging Steven Lowy, the FFA chairman (who was not present) to grasp the nettle of constitutional reform, Di Pietro said: "No business is the same today as it was in 2005.

"A-League clubs are represented collectively by only one vote. The A-League earns the lion's share of the revenue but almost has the least say." Club owners have to meet significant financial commitments to keep the show on the road, Di Pietro said, and they were asking that "revenues generated by the A-League should be retained and invested to grow the A-League ... the marketing investment in this game needs to deepen. We need to bring everyone in."