The A-League could fall under the private ownership of a global sports management firm with Football Federation Australia not ruling out selling off a stake in the competition to bring investment into the game.

The A-League is braced for a major financial blow should broadcaster Fox Sports walk away from the final three years of its TV deal and is already looking for alternative revenue streams. The Sydney Morning Herald can reveal a third-party private ownership model will be seriously considered as a means to draw much-needed investment into the league. FFA has already laid significant groundwork to sell a stake in the competition.

The A-League is seeking foreign investment. Credit:AAP

An evaluation was conducted last year that deemed the A-League worth between $100 million and $120 million. After that evaluation, FFA held talks with two overseas-based firms about selling between 30 per cent and 51 per cent of the A-League. The identity of one of those firms remains unknown but, according to sources close to the negotiations, the other was American sports marketing firm IMG. The New York-based company has a history of buying into sports competitions, having launched the Indian Super League in 2013. IMG part-owned the ISL until 2018.

Discussions cooled in the months before the COVID-19 pandemic struck but had not died. There is a strong chance those talks will be revisited if Fox Sports pulls the plug on its 15-year partnership with FFA by terminating its $57 million a year broadcast deal.