The 15-year marriage between Fox Sports and Australian football appears to be coming to an end after the broadcaster did not pay the final instalment of this season's TV deal, which was due on Thursday.

It puts the final three years of the A-League's broadcast deal in doubt after Football Federation Australia did not receive the near $12 million quarterly sum from Foxtel, the parent company of Fox Sports. Foxtel's decision to withhold the final payment has surprised football's stakeholders as they believed the pay TV provider was legally required to honour the final instalment of this financial year.

The A-League may be on the lookout for a new broadcast partner. Credit:Getty Images

Foxtel declined to comment on its decision, which comes as the A-League remains suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however FFA and A-League sources suggest this could be the beginning of the end for Australian football and Foxtel.

To many in the game, that is of little surprise. The financially embattled Foxtel has sought to offload "non-core" sports to save money since posting major losses for the 2018-19 financial year and, just last week, slashed more than 200 jobs. Fox Sports has significantly scaled back its football department and FFA and A-League clubs didn't wait for the pin to be pulled on the TV deal, worth $57 million a year, before preparing their search for a new broadcast partner for next season.