There have been talks that Football Australia want the A-League to shift their season to line up with international leagues, but the broadcasters of Australia’s top division are fighting to keep the season where it is.
The A-League season typically runs from October to May, while some European seasons usually start in August.
Sydney FC CEO Danny Townsend joined Simon Hill and Alex Brosque on SEN 1170's The Global Game to underline the priorities of the A-League.
“We rely on the financials to underpin the success of the competition (to ensure) that the game is properly funded," he said.
“The broadcast deal currently and since the inception of the A-League has been the number one revenue stream for the league as a whole.
“We need to ensure that we’re playing when we’re (at) our most valuable.
“We’re still working with the FA (Football Australia) and the marketplace to determine when that is."
Townsend highlighted the difficulties that arise when planning to shift the football season.
“There are some complications around FIFA and the registration window that need to align a little more efficiently than they have in the past," he said.
"The flexibility that was there in the past is no longer as flexible. That said, we’re working with (Football Australia boss) James Johnson.
"I met him on Monday and I’m meeting with him tomorrow to start talking through that process.
“We all want what is best for the game.
“It’s not as simple as picking a bunch of months and going from there."
The Sky Blues director shared the status of the negotiations.
“We want to get into a position by the end of March where we get a reasonable feeling about who our dance partner was going to be,” he said.
“Whether we had all the terms of the deal fleshed out and agreed by then would probably be difficult.
“But, we felt that going into April we want to be in a pretty clear place as to where we’re at.
“And we’re on track to do that.”
Listen to the full interview with Danny Townsend here: