Such is the romance of the Cup – a fairytale the FFA is actively encouraging by guaranteeing the presence of at least a few minnows in the main draw. If you doubt the importance of this as a selling point, you must have missed this week's announcement of a portfolio of sponsors by David Gallop. Westfield have come on board as naming rights sponsor, joined by NAB, Harvey Norman and Fox Sports in deals worth $12 million over the next three years. Four blue-chip sponsors who are effectively investing in the middle tier of football – between the A-League and the grassroots – because they recognise the value of romance as much as the rest of us.

That connection between the top and the bottom of the game, between the old and the new, has always been part of the game's fabric. Yet so far it's proved to be a struggle to manage it. Hopefully it's a case of third time lucky.

The first attempt at a nationwide cup competition came during the 1960s, when for seven seasons clubs from most states traversed the country to play for the Australia Cup. Some of the players from the last winning side, Hakoah (now Hakoah Sydney City) still get together for lunch on a weekly basis in Coogee.

Then there was the NSL Cup, which ran for 20 years from 1977, but never truly captured the imagination because, for the most part, it didn't include teams from outside the NSL. The Achilles heel for both competitions was a lack of publicity, lack of corporate support and an ambivalent attitude from head office. The signs are the FFA has learnt from those mistakes.

So why is this competition so important? Mostly because it demonstrates a base that is deeper and wider than all the other codes. Everyone knows football's participation base is its greatest strength, so here's the golden opportunity to advertise the fact.