SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell insists an August return for Scottish football is an achievable target.
The former Partick Thistle star reckons clubs will be able to return to training in the middle of June before getting league action back underway six weeks later.
The SPFL hope to get back on the pitch at the beginning of August and Maxwell believes if coronavirus numbers remain stable then they'll be able to play by then.
Football has had the shutters down since March when the government put the whole of the UK into stasis as part of a bid to fight the growth of the virus.
The 2019/20 season was curtailed with Celtic handed the league title after a resolution vote and focus has quickly turned to the 2020/21 campaign.
The SFA and SPFL joint response group have a meeting with the Scottish government next week and hope to be able to add further detail to their plans.
He told BBC Scotland: "Work is ongoing, we established six different sub groups to look at different areas of the game, we’re working through those processes.
"The big issue on the horizon is the meeting we have next Friday with the Scottish government.
"That gives football the chance to outline the plans we have and to make sure that football can return in a safe and appropriate manner when the time is right.
"We’re working through a three stage plan, similar to the plan the government announced. We’re taking a phased approach to it. Starting with returning to training then we’ll move to a return to matches and then we’ll move to a return to spectators being allowed back into stadiums when the time is right.
"We have a four to six week training schedule the medical group are working through and outlining the plans for.
"Those six weeks can be regardless of whenever the start date of a division is. The SPFL have said they would like to get the game started back in August and we can fit the plans for training around those timescales.
"I think it’s likely we’ll see football in August, yeah.
"We’ve seen it around Europe whether they’re finishing league programmes and there’s some who are looking to start next season’s programmes. It’s definitely achievable, the plans we’re putting in place are comprehensive, we have to make sure we’re giving government comfort we can do it in a manner that keeps players, staff and everyone working in the game safe.
"I’m sure we can do that."
Just a matter of weeks ago, there were concerns that the game wouldn't be able to be played until September or October but Maxwell insists the government's route out of lockdown is evidence it can happen.
He said: "The information we have from government is that the NHS was in emergency until June 10 and there would be no relaxing of those restrictions until that point.
"They’ve released their stage plan and obviously stage two of that talks about a return to professional sport, that is three weeks after Friday’s review date so that ties in with some time around the 10th to 18th of June.
"That is fluid and can change but we have to go on the hope and expectation that it won’t and the numbers we’re seeing on the virus continue to decrease and that gives us the opportunity to plan for then.
"As long as all those elements fall into place there’s no reason we can’t be training then and back playing six weeks after that."
