SBS is close to an audacious deal to bring the A-League to free-to-air television by showing a game every week from next season.

The Daily Telegraph understands that Football Federation Australia is close to tying up the long-awaited new broadcast deal to replace the existing pay-TV-only contract which expires next year and SBS are favourites to supply the coveted free-to-air exposure for the Australian domestic league.

The proposed deal would see Fox Sports continue to show four of five games every week, with the fifth and possibly a highlights show on the government-funded network.

With talks between Football Federation Australia and various networks having intensified in recent weeks, it's believed SBS is considering withdrawing from the bidding for the UEFA Champions League to free up money for an A-League contract, if its talks with FFA are successful.

SBS currently share rights for the Champions League with ESPN but have long sought to provide a platform for the domestic game.

However, sources close to the deal say SBS's involvement is not yet a completely done deal, with the fallout from the imminent conclusion of the NRL's TV negotiations still to be felt.If Channel Ten in particular are left with nothing from the rugby league contracts, it's believed they may make a late play to secure soccer to shore up their sports portfolio.

Nonetheless the SBS offer carries significant weight because of the depth of coverage it would bring to the A-League from a free-to- air perspective.

It is still to be decided by soccer chiefs whether to bundle the A-League with the Socceroos games, or sell those in a separate deal.

Comments from FFA officials have hardened in recent weeks about the pot of money that will be available for the clubs following the TV deal, with A-League boss Lyall Gorman on Monday indicating the salary cap of around $2.5m at each club is likely to be covered each season.

It's understood the new committee of owners and FFA directors reaffirmed this, with FFA now confident of striking a deal that will underpin the game financially.

The TV deal signed by John O'Neill at the end of the first A-League season was worth some $120 million over seven years, and was rewarded by high-quality coverage on the pay-TV network.

But having at least one game on a FTA network has long been seen as essential to raising the A-League's profile among general sports fans, and providing a connection between the thousands of registered players and the competition's 10 teams.

The FFA's breakneck dash to establish a team in west Sydney has also been an integral part of the construction of the new TV deal, with a second team in the city seen as a driver of new subscriptions for Foxtel.

SBS was long seen as the spiritual home of soccer but relationships with FFA soured in the early days of O'Neill's tenure over trenchant criticism of the Australian youth teams, among others.

Neither SBS nor FFA were last night prepared to comment.

Follow @Telegraph_Sport on Twitter and like Telegraph Sport on Facebook

Originally published as A-League on free-to-air