At least five proposals are on the table for how the League of Ireland should progress with the rest of the season.
And one of them could see the league resume in September and run through Christmas before finishing in February.
Clubs, the FAI and the National League Executive Committee will now analyse the financial implications of each scenario discussed today.
A final recommendation will then be made ahead of the Government announcement on May 5 over the possible easing of some lockdown restrictions.
The NLEC met with FAI chiefs over video conference call today where a number of scenarios were teased out.
It comes on the back of yesterday’s Government announcement that mass gatherings of 5,000 are banned until late August at the earliest.
As it stands, the league is due to resume on June 19 and finish in late December. Clubs have weighed up the pros and cons of playing behind closed doors and are against it.
Another option discussed today is restarting on June 19 but with 25%-50% capacity restrictions in place at stadia.
The possibility of restarting the league in July or August were also debated, as was a condensed season from September to December.
Another alternative is that games resume in September with the season running over Christmas and finishing in February.
NLEC chairman Noel Byrne said: “These are unprecedented times for Irish life, never mind football and all our clubs recognise that.
“Today’s meeting emphasised the need for clubs and the FAI to work together to ensure that our League comes through this difficult period in the best manner possible.
“We discussed all potential outcomes in depth and we’ll now formulate a plan for the resumption in line with best practice advice from Government, HSE and UEFA.”
The FAI’s Niall Quinn said: “The meeting was productive and realistic in light of the most recent comments from An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, his Government and UEFA.
“We all understand the situation the country is in right now and we’ll continue to follow the guidelines laid down by the HSE and the Department of Health.
“We must also prepare for all eventualities around a return to football.
“The FAI and the NLEC are now working with the clubs to explore the financial impact around a return to action under all circumstances.“
“We are engaging with the clubs now to see what income support they will need to get us back on the field.”
With reserves of over €2 billion, FIFA is preparing to roll out a financial aid package for world football but it is unclear how much Irish football will receive.
