Alen Stajcic has been astonishingly fired from his role as Matildas coach with team set to embark on a FIFA World Cup campaign in June.
Rumours swirled about the 45-year-old's future in the job on Saturday morning before confirmation came in a FFA press conference at 12pm.
It's understood issues between the coach and the playing group are the reason behind Stajcic's sacking with a governing body organised survey revealing the friction.
FFA chief executive David Gallop said workplace issues were a factor in the sacking but wouldn't go into exact details.
No replacement has been made but the governing body committed to finding a suitable option before the Matildas next match on February 8.
"The ultimate responsibility for driving change and leading a high-performance environment that puts the team in the best possible position to achieve what they are capable of, rests with the head coach. We no longer have confidence that Alen is the right person to lead the team and staff," Gallop said.
"FFA is committed to providing the best possible environment for the Matildas and this change is being made with that objective in mind. We will continue to review other aspects of the team set-up and monitor the Matildas environment in the coming weeks and months as we build for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.”
"Alen has achieved a number of successes on the field with the Westfield Matildas since coming to the role in 2014. We thank Alen for this service and wish him the very best in his future endeavours in football."
After taking over in 2014 from Hesterine de Reus, who was dismissed following a player revolt, Stajcic led the Matildas to as high as fourth in the FIFA world rankings and had the team as one of the favourites to win this year's World Cup in France.
His best achievements include leading the Matildas to the quarter-finals of both the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, while they beat the USA for the first time on their way to clinching the 2017 Tournament of Nations.
Australia are set to face Italy, Jamaica and Brazil in the group stage of June's World Cup.
Preparation for that event will include the Tournament of Nations on home soil in early February, which will include matches against New Zealand, South Korea and Argentina.
The ladies will also play an away friendly against the USA in April.
