Some of Australia's most celebrated soccer players are banding together in an effort to improve the game here.Credit:AP
Youth development,the cost of junior football,coaching programmes and the way the game is run at grassroots level have also been topics of hot debate as soccer administrators,fans and supporters all grapple with what sort of future the game might have when the shutdown stops.
Now some of Australia's best known players from the past 25 years have thrown their hats into the ring,organising to form a pressure group aimed at driving change.
Another former national team captain in Craig Moore is the local focal point,but other names on the lobbying list include John Aloisi,Scott Chipperfield,Vince Grella,Zeljko Kalac,Josip Skoko and Luke Wilkshire as well as Neill and Viduka. All had decorated careers in Europe and Moore says they"feel a responsibility to secure Australia's football future".
"We played in the World Cup in 2006,but we learned our football and grew up in the game up to 20 years before that,"Moore said in a statement on behalf of the group.
"What we see now is that the pool of talent needs broadening,and standards and quality have not as advanced as much as they should.
"We believe Australia has the sporting gene pool for every generation to be a'golden generation'and that's what we want for football – men and women.