Former Premier League boss Richard Scudamore has arrived in Australia.Credit:Getty Images
It will be a whistlestop trip for the 60-year-old,who will barely have a spare hour as he consults with owners and administrators,discusses strategy and the impending separation from Football Federation Australia,and attends fixtures on Saturday and Sunday before flying out on Monday.
In an hour-long briefing with reporters on Friday morning,Scudamore made it clear there was no silver bullet for the A-League and was not willing to make any predictions as to where it could be after five or 10 years of independence.
But he said a recent move from the clubs to prioritise youth was the right one,saying big-name marquees were not essential and pointing to Leicester City's famous title-winning season as an example of how players like Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante - largely unknown at the time - can become overnight celebrities.
"Australian teams don't need a whole load of globally-recognised superstars that walk around and everybody knows who they are,"Scudamore said.
I've seen every single model there is to see where football sits within the pecking order in each country.
Richard Scudamore
"What you need to build is club loyalty. Homegrown is still the most exciting thing ... the holy grail is the local boy made good because they are your best asset.
"My firm,simple belief is[having] your young players playing against the best foreign players you can afford to have - that's the way they develop."