But Fox remains in negotiations over a deal that could see the pay-TV network screen the remaining 27 games of the 2019-20 A-League campaign and the finals series,which FFA is aiming to complete by the end of August.
The sources also say that Fox is examining whether there is a'constructive path'forward with FFA and that the Murdoch-controlled company is still open to a longer-term arrangement beyond 2020 - but only at a vastly-reduced cost.
It comes after Fox dramatically scrubbed all A-League,W-League,Socceroos and Matildas content from its various platforms on Wednesday night and confirmed publicly for the first time it was"reviewing"its football offering.
"We've got no live football at the moment and we're currently reviewing all our football offering,and that's the reason why it's not there at the moment,"Foxtel's head of Fox Sports,Peter Campbell,told theHerald andThe Age on Thursday.
"We're having a good look at it. There's still plenty of content on there from the BeIN properties,some LaLiga and stuff like that from memory."
The move was widely interpreted as a negotiating tactic,although another source suggested that Fox was protecting its legal position by taking down the content,which included old matches,highlights and features.