This week, the AFL revealed the mission to create an 18-team AFL Women's competition by the end of next year, a calculated response to the FIFA World Cup being held in Australia in 2023.

Presuming the financial impact stands up, it's smart policy and smart politics, as well as the practical sense of providing fantastic opportunities for the next generation of female talent. It also puts Football Australia on notice.

AFL may never have an international presence, aside from a token game in China or New Zealand, but they'll fight tooth-and-nail for hearts and minds all the same.

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Here in the Illawarra, football types may think they're largely insulated from the presence of the AFL, the only major turf battles over money and facilities tend to be with rugby league.

But the region is officially in Swans territory, so having the Bloods in the AFLW fixture in 2022-23 opens up new pathways.

Ex-Wollongong (now Figtree) Saints player Maddy Collier has had four seasons at GWS Giants and now West Coast, while Rylee McGartland and Kate Stanton may well be in the same category had more doors been open.

Of course, the South Coast celebrates its own Matildas' World Cup and Olympics superstar Caitlin Foord, playing with storied English club Arsenal, having come through the Sydney FC system.

But the move to 18 teams in women's AFL should spotlight what happens next with the W-League. How does the FA capitalise on hosting the World Cup with New Zealand in 2023 and convert it into not only new revenue streams and infrastructure, but also look to expand the competition itself?

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The state league powerhouse Illawarra Stingrays have been pondering the opportunity to join the W-League for a decade.

"Much like the Wolves are attempting to provide a pathway for men to represent the region at the highest level, it's time for a women's team to be based in the Illawarra," former A-League champion and Mercury columnist Jacob Timpano wrote in May.

Last year Stingrays president Kathy McDonogh was taking a longer-term view, saying: "For us, we've said that we're a far cry from having a W-League team ... we're looking down the barrel of being 10 years away from that."

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The Illawarra will never have an AFL team of its own - even the Sherrin stronghold of Tasmania cannot get a seat at the table - but deserves to be at the front of the queue for W-League expansion or the fabled men's National Second Division.

The World Cup is more than a showcase for Australia, it's a chance to define what the future looks like for a generation to come.

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