The Herald can reveal the most likely scenario being discussed by A-League powerbrokers, who are mapping out possibilities for what could happen at the end of 2021 and beyond.Senior club sources say the A-League is facing an eight-month hiatus after next year's grand final with the following season unlikely to begin until February 2022.The extended recess is a one-off consequence of moving to a winter season but the void would be filled with other competitions to ensure A-League players remain active during most of that time, according to the plan favoured most by club executives.

Teams would be given a two-month break in July and August 2021 before returning for pre-season training, with competitive matches to resume in September with the FFA Cup's round of 32, which would wrap up in December.

A change to the format of the FFA Cup is almost certain. FFA chief executive James Johnson has previously expressed a desire to move to a group stage in the round of 32 to provide more national-level matches for players, while FFA's XI Principles document also forecasts a move to groups and for the final to become the last match of the domestic football season each year.While some within the game believe a group stage would take away some of the romance of the FFA Cup by making it more difficult for NPL sides to progress, it is seen as a handy short-term solution to keep A-League teams active - particularly in a year where the Socceroos could be faced with a backlog of qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and players will need to be fit if called upon.An open draw – instead of the current structure which guarantees a semi-final berth for at least one non-A-League team – is also on the cards, as well as regionalising the early stages of the cup to ensure more derbies and minimise travel costs.

Then in January 2022, A-League teams would be involved in a pre-season tournament or "league cup", before the season proper begins in February and ends just before the World Cup commences in November 2022.The A-League has not had an official pre-season competition since the Pre-Season Challenge Cup was discarded in 2009, while this year's FFA Cup was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The FFA Cup was specifically excluded from the A-League's revised broadcast rights deal with Fox Sports – which expires at the end of July – because it was viewed as an ideal test run for a football-specific streaming platform being planned by A-League clubs.

Firmer details around the service are scarce, but sources believe it will serve a pivotal role in connecting the A-League with the grassroots by providing an all-encompassing digital platform for the whole of the game.

The Herald reported in May that FFA and A-League clubs were interested in taking on responsibility for broadcast production of matches, enabling them to exercise more control over how rights are sold and opening up the possibility of deals with companies like Optus Sport.

A move to winter is not officially set in stone for the A-League, with extensive research being undertaken on the commercial impact before any definitive call is made.

But while some clubs - particularly in AFL-dominated Victoria - have reservations, most key stakeholders within the sport believe there is more to be gained than lost by flipping the calendar and running the A-League in tandem with grassroots competitions, which have always been played in winter.

Analysis of data shows that the tempo of A-League matches improves during the cooler months, but that the competition suffers a decline in share of mainstream media space when going up against the other major codes, especially the AFL and NRL.

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