The roll-out will be in line with the introduction of new FFA national regulations which will take effect from January 1, 2007. These regulations require all players in Australia to register with the FFA and the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Previously, players only had to register with their respective state bodies.

Templeman said the critical factor in using the First-Sports system was its ability to create a 360-degree view of each participant, highlighting multiple roles and interactions within the football community in Australia. This would allow for coordinated marketing campaigns, better communication and player accountability, he said.

"For the past 18 months, since the federation liquidated Soccer Australia, we've been trying to unite the tribes," Templeman said. "The old NSL [National Soccer League] clubs were ethnically aligned and their fan bases were just as fragmented, but we're on our way to changing that."

This fragmentation posed a number of problems for the game's administration in Australia, particularly in regard to the funding of grassroots clubs.

The absence of player data meant Australian football clubs could not qualify for financial compensation through a FIFA-sponsored claims system, which provisions a downward flow of funds to grassroots clubs as players move through the ranks of professional football.