Club owners lodged a formal dispute with Football Federation Australia last week in an attempt to stop 15 players, including Danny De Silva, Stefan Mauk and Paul Izzo, attending January's "meaningless" under-23 Asian championship.

The tournament is not a qualification path to the 2020 Olympics, but will affect Australia's seeding at the following instalment, which doubles as the Tokyo qualification event.

FFA set a limit of three players per club to cater for the loss in personnel, but the the players - many of them starters - could be away for up to five A-League games depending how far the Olyroos progress.

As it stands, clubs are obliged to release players regardless of the date.

The clubs argue they shouldn't have to do so outside official FIFA international windows.

That claim appears to have been backed up by FIFA in an email dated December 22 and seen by AAP, which referred to the global governing body's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.

Omar Ongaro, head of the players' status and governance department, cited Annexe 1, which includes the provision "it is not compulsory to release players for matches scheduled on dates not listed in the co-ordinated international match calendar".

Ongaro wrote that FIFA's rules "are the only regulatory basis without the possibility to deviate from its principles at national level".

"In order to guarantee equal treatment of all clubs and all member associations, the uniform and consistent application of the rules pertaining to the release of players to association teams is essential and of utmost importance," he wrote.

The disagreement comes to a head days before Ante Milicic's Olyroos squad are due to depart, a situation Professional Footballers Australia said puts the players in the "unacceptable position" of choosing between club and country.

Should the Friday morning hearing in Sydney fall in favour of the clubs, it will have wide-ranging ramifications for the youth national teams and the ability of coaches to select their desired squads.

If a ruling is made against the clubs, it's understood they will explore all options, including an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The dispute marks the latest chapter in the bitter ongoing dispute between FFA and the clubs.

Tensions were stoked last week when the governing body refused to recognise the Association of Professional Football Clubs Australia (APFCA), forcing Central Coast Mariners to submit a notice of dispute on behalf of the clubs.

They built further when the clubs demanded only lawyers who have not received any corporate benefits from FFA during the past 12 months be allowed to hear the case.