Broadcast rights will remain the game's biggest cash cow, and Gallop said the focus had to be on extracting maximum value for the product based largely on the appeal of the Socceroos and the domestic competition.

David Gallop: "A doubling would be the least we would expect." Credit:Getty Images

"The A-League is the financial backbone of the business in terms of the new television deal, and the goal is of making sure that the next TV deal is a substantial increase in rights fees from the current one," Gallop said. "It's difficult to pin down what the value will be, but we need to be aiming high, and I think it's realistic to aim for a very hefty increase. It's $40 million a year at the moment . . . a doubling would be the least we would expect."

Fox Sports, the inaugural partner when the A-League was established in 2005-06, has helped drive growth but Gallop knows that breaking beyond the narrow confines of a pay-television operator is essential if the sport is to harness not just its popularity but develop its commercial potential. SBS has provided it with its first exposure to the free-to-air market but its footprint and audience are much smaller than the likes of channels Seven, Nine and 10, which will be among the targets in the next round of negotiations.

"Getting on to free-to-air was a breakthrough moment for the sport, and certainly complements the investment that the pay-TV operator has made. We would certainly envisage that we get ourselves into a position where we have a number of suitors next time, including the commercial networks.