Irish League managers look set to be consulted on a potential circuit breaker for the Danske Bank Premiership in the midst of rising Covid-19 concerns.
Belfast Live has learned that top-flight bosses have been invited to attend a virtual mid-season meeting with local football chiefs next week.
And it is understood one of the topics up for discussion is a potential two week pause in action to help protect the league and also combat a wider spread of the virus within society.
Another 7,215 new cases were reported in Northern Ireland on Friday - the highest number of daily cases since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Irish League chairmen were keen to protect the money-spinning festive and New Year fixtures which bring in approximately £500,000 in revenue.
But it is understood a number of local clubs are open to implementing a short circuit breaker in January to help mitigate the ongoing impact of the Omicron variant.
A similar action was taken by NIFL last January when the Danske Bank Premiership was paused for a fortnight due to a surge in Covid-19 cases.
Glentoran boss Mick McDermott suggested after last week's Big Two derby with Linfield at Windsor Park that he would be open to the prospect of a short circuit breaker this month.
He told reporters on Monday: “I would imagine if we get through the January 1 games, NIFL might make a decision to shut it down for a couple of weeks which would make sense to me.
“A number of games have been called off and I think it’s only going to get worse, so is it better to have a ‘winter break’ as we did last year? The virus just seems to be spreading like wildfire at the moment.”
The NI Executive decided on Thursday that no further Covid-19 restrictions or measures would be imposed on sport across Northern Ireland “at this time”.
However, there is a growing concern within local football circles that an increasing number of games may fall victim to Covid-19-related cancellations in the coming days and weeks.
Last Monday’s North Belfast derby between Cliftonville and Crusaders was shelved at late notice, with Crues chairman Ronnie Millar blaming the “virus” for the call-off.
Warrenpoint Town’s home clash with Dungannon Swifts on December 27 was also postponed, as was Glenavon’s trip to Crusaders on December 23.
All six of today’s Premiership games are scheduled to proceed, but a number of Championship and Premier Intermediate League fixtures have been postponed.
Bangor v Limavady United and Dollingstown v Tobermore in the Premier Intermediate were called off on Friday "in line with NIFL’s Covid-19 case policy”.
Two of this weekend's Championship fixtures - Knockbreda v Welders and Ards v Loughgall - were also postponed following a request by the clubs.
