Here's a question that attracts extreme responses: how long will it take the Socceroos to win the World Cup? The very notion of Australia displacing the likes of Brazil assumes, of course, that an ideal strategic football plan would have been in place right across the country, at every level, for some time.

So, the answer? Some say never, others at least 20-50 years. Regardless of such speculation, everyone would agree that vast improvement on the world stage would require radical change.

In reality, it is the youngest generation of players who have the greatest chance of triumphing in the most difficult sporting competition in the world. Yet a system to support this goal must be put in place. They need the optimal environment of coaching and playing structures to foster their development, and a higher level of competition in their late teens to keep pace with their peers in Europe.

Since we're already talking about seemingly impossible goals, let's go even further. We'll need the most focused, the most targeted and the most integrated football system Australia can produce. And we'll need absolute national unity. We need perfection, not compromise.

World Cup success requires a revolution in our football systems and culture. It is a such a tall order because we have a limited population base and football has to compete in the national talent pool with the other codes - at least for a few more years until Australia wakes up.

We have a chance to succeed, but now is the time to act, or it may be lost forever. Four years ago the football family, through the Crawford Report, said enough was enough. It said we needed a top-down, nationally driven approach that represented the absolute best Australia could achieve.

The appointment of Rob Baan as national technical director to develop the ultimate strategic plan was the first step. But when the states became aligned this year, we expected Football Federation Australia - for once in our history - to go further. To lead the game and to galvanise all parties to work together in the national interest.

Let's be clear about what that means. The FFA's job is not to ask the states what is acceptable, but to direct policy with a sledgehammer approach when necessary. The Crawford Report was driven to give the FFA that mandate, because the states often work against the national interest when they are given even a modicum of control.

So we come to last week and the first real test of whether the FFA is prepared to act on its responsibility. The issue was the future of the football program at the Australian Institute of Sport - the unwanted prodigy of the game in Australia.

The AIS program kept us going when the states failed with their technical programs, and now was looking for a home in the NSW Premier League to provide a high level of competition to the country's best under-20 footballers.

After assessing the scholarship-based AIS program and where it fitted within the overall strategic plan, Dutchman Baan concluded that the AIS team must play in NSW - not Victoria, as it has been. Perfect. A decision from someone who been involved in football for 40 years in a country that actually knows the game. So, what happened?

Exactly what always happened in the past - NSW said no. The FFA asked again, more forcefully this time, but still ended up relenting. At a board meeting on Wednesday, the FFA agreed to fund a $200,000 rescue package to keep flying the team south to compete in the Victorian Premier League. That's $200,000 the governing body could not afford. Once again the ideal was compromised.

No doubt NSW made all manner of excuses, but what FFA chief executive Ben Buckley needs to make clear is that we've heard this before and it's unacceptable.

Buckley's management style is collaborative, and he has been vocal on ensuring co-operation in the administration of the game, from the top to the bottom. But he cannot allow every directive from Baan to get watered down through negotiation at state level.

The bottom line is that the national interest must prevail over what serves the states and their constituent clubs. The FFA's charter should enshrine this ethos. Put bluntly, it must say: Get on board or get out of the way. Buckley has the mandate from the football family to implement change directly, without compromise, without negotiation. Allied to this approach, the guidelines provided by Baan should be monitored and overseen by a national technical committee.

The new state constitutions give Buckley the sledgehammer. Many in the game, if not all, want him to start swinging.