This is the view of North Launceston president Thane Brady as the clock ticks towards the AFL's decision on whether Tasmania will get the league's 19^th licence, reportedly set for August.

The league's existing 10-year licence agreement expires in 2023 and has already been a point of contention, with Southern Football League president Russell Young calling for its dissolution earlier this year.

Brady believes a strong state league would benefit Tasmania's AFL ambitions.

"A Tasmanian AFL team will fail without the same foundation as other states. It will be a disaster if we do not invest in both a state league and a VFL," he said.

"It's ridiculous and naive to argue Tasmania could play in the AFL and the VFL without a state league.

"If we get the green light, the injection of cash and resources we have been starved of will flow. If this game changer doesn't arrive, football in this state will continue to decline."

The Tasmanian AFL bid took a further step this month with the launch of the Believe Tasmanian campaign which received support from all three political parties and the release of a TV commercial.

Other state leagues like the SANFL and WAFL receive more funding than the TSL due to having AFL teams in South Australia and Western Australia.

Brady believes the AFL will look to past lessons of expanding into new markets like when they merged Fitzroy with Brisbane in 1996 and South Melbourne became the Sydney Swans.

"Since the 1980s the AFL has shown us an AFL team is not sustainable without strong foundations. The Swans and Bears struggled for players relying on imports because they had no strong feeder competitions. The AFL learnt from its mistakes investing significantly in northern states to create participation and talent development structures," he said.

"Undisputed evidence around Australia is adequately resourced state leagues produce AFL players.

"As an example, in support of its two AFL clubs Queensland now has two VFL teams and a vibrant state league with many ex-AFL players coaching and or playing. The AFL has created this as it knows this is the sustainable model."

Key to the TSL's improvement in Brady's eyes would be the introduction of East Devonport.

"The TSL's best players make it in the VFL and SANFL now. With a few tweaks in the structure including the long-awaited salary cap introduction for all competitions, the inclusion of East Devonport and a resource boost, Tasmania could have a state league like the mainland," he said.

The TSL has several former alumni playing in state competitions on the mainland.

Jye Menzie has starred in the SANFL after making his debut with South Adelaide while former North Launceston product Jackson Callow recently made his debut for Hawthorn.

Former Bombers Jay Foon and Jay Lockhart are plying their trade at Southport in the VFL while Jacob Boyd and Alec Wright have made appearances for North Melbourne's VFL side.

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However, more is set to be known when the the AFL makes the long-awaited decision on Tasmania's AFL side.

The decision is likely to come down to whether Tasmania gets a sole team with a relocated team thought to not be the preferred option.

AFL Tasmania's Football Futures project, which was released last year, indicated the TSL's role and the football pathways surrounding it were on pause until the announcement was made.

"As first communicated in November, the future of the TSL and the structure of Tasmanian player pathways beyond 2023 will be captured in the broader AFL licence discussion process," Head of AFL Tasmania Damian Gill said in a statement.

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