There was finally some positive news for the beleaguered FFA and A-League on Tuesday, as the fixture list for the 2011-12 season was announced. 

Reassuringly, the A-League hierarchy has taken on board many of the scheduling criticisms levelled at it during recent campaigns. Amongst the improvements: 

*         Round 1 will kick off on October 8 - after the AFL Grand Final - allowing the competition some much-needed airspace. 

*         Greater consistency of scheduling. 27 rounds over 25 weeks with more of a ‘home-and-away' feel. Last season suffered from a disjointed programme, with poor scheduling of byes and distribution of home-and-away fixtures. Most clubs will enjoy a familiar home-followed-by-away routine throughout the year. 

*         Reduction in poorly-attended midweek fixtures, down to 10 from 30. This was one of the major criticisms levelled at the competition last year and a major factor in the drop in average attendances across the league. European football has a tradition of midweek competition but amongst the congested sporting landscape in Australia it has failed to become part of the match-going culture. 

*         Midweek fixtures are all scheduled in December and January. This will ensure all midweek games coincide with school holidays and allow families to attend matches together. The intensity of fixtures in this period should also guarantee the competition maximum visibility at a time when the other major football codes are least active. 

*         Regular east coast 8pm Friday night timeslot for feature matches. Because of the geographical spread of the A-League, the competition has suffered a lack of a consistent key product. In line with the AFL, NRL and Super Rugby, the A-League can now market a well-publicised Friday-night fixture to its television audience. 

*         The early rounds are front-loaded with key fixtures, including a round one Grand-Final rematch and consecutive Melbourne Victory grudge matches, against first Sydney FC, then Adelaide United and finally Melbourne Heart. There will be three Melbourne derbies, in rounds 3, 12 and 18. 

The overall feeling generated by the announcement is one of a more cohesive competition that will better represent the quality of the football on the pitch. 

Unfortunately, the season is four months away, during which time the other football codes will dominate the sporting landscape. Encouragingly, the FFA has scheduled attractive friendlies against Serbia and New Zealand in the coming weeks to provide further exposure to the game while the domestic league returns to action. 

Hopefully this announcement is the first step in an improvement in the administration of the game in Australia after recent high-profile challenges have brought the FFA's leadership into question. Of greatest encouragement is the indication that the administration has listened to and acted on the concerns of the football-supporting public. 

The FFA announcement also included the comment that: "The Hyundai A-League 2011/12 season will also see a greater marketing effort with substantial increase in marketing spend and innovation in new digital channels and social media growing the Hyundai A-League into a bigger, brighter and more interactive season than ever before."

Again, this is an acknowledgement that the marketing behind the 2010-11 season missed the target and, with no World Cup bid to distract this year, there are no excuses for a repeat underperformance. 

Promising signs then from the FFA and A-League, let's just hope the game hasn't been completely discredited by FIFA before October 8 ...