Central Coast Mariners chief executive Shaun Mielekamp says it is up to the ACT government to decide if the A-League will have a future presence in Canberra.
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It is understood the Mariners are playing in Canberra at a loss and would need to be aided by significant government funding if a long-term partnership was to be struck.
But the viability of a future A-League presence in Canberra has been questioned after another small crowd turned out for Central Coast's clash with Adelaide on Sunday.
A financial injection from the ACT government helped the Mariners bring their November clash with Wellington to Canberra but the club took on the risks of bringing a second game to the capital.
Mielekamp says the Mariners are still open to working with the ACT government, Capital Football and Football Federation Australia to maximise the growth of football in the region.
The Mariners boss says discussions are already underway to see what role the club could play in Canberra, but Capital Football chief executive Phil Brown declined to comment on the negotiations.
The gamble of bringing two games to Canberra hasn't paid off for the Mariners with the two fixtures drawing in a total of 10,569 fans.
Even so, that figure is warped with the 5072 recorded at Sunday night's double header representing the turnout across the whole double header.
It is likely that at no stage would that many have been present at once, with some fans filing out after the A-League clash and new fans rolling in before the W-League semi-final.
"Whilst the future is unknown, at this stage the conversation is happening which can only be positive," Mielekamp said.
"We definitely feel that there is role to play here in connection with Capital Football. We're passionate to see if we can help out with the pathways that come out of Canberra."
Both Mariners crowds were smaller than the 5581 recorded for Canberra Olympic's FFA Cup semi-final against Sydney FC at Viking Park in October.
Central Coast's crowds were dwarfed by those of the Greater Western Sydney Giants AFL crowds at Manuka Oval, which all past the 10,000 mark last season.
The Giants' first fixture at Manuka Oval, a pre-season match in 2011, drew a crowd of 5991.
But unlike the Giants, the Mariners are without a long-term deal to play in the capital and believe that has an impact on crowd figures, because Canberra fans don't recognise a genuine commitment from the club.
Mielekamp admits "there's a lot of work to be done" if the Mariners are to double their crowd figures in Canberra.
"[Crowd figures have] grown from the last time we were here," Mielekamp said.
"On one aspect you can look at it and go 'That's a real positive'. But of course you always want it to be above the A-League average [13,110].
"There was great positive energy in the crowd, which was really important. That was one thing we were looking for from this game compared to the last, was a lot of support and energy in the crowd and we got that."
