FFA said the W-League and A-League would continue behind closed doors in accordance with government advise against non-essential gatherings of 500-plus people. However, FFA chief James Johnson said the governing body would go a step further at the grassroots level, including the NPL and FFA Cup competitions, where attendances could fall either side of the 500 mark.

"Football may continue at the moment, but it must be done so in accordance with these guidelines," Johnson said. "The main point is that only essential participants should attend football. We understand the government have a rule which is 500 plus. We're saying that if you're not essential to the participation, please stay at home."

The advice appears set to impact on this weekend's opening round of the NNSW NPL as well as the Herald Women's Premier League and men's second division, which have already started.

While professional leagues gain revenue from broadcast deals, local competitions rely heavily on match-day gate and canteen profits.

NNSW NPL standing committee chairperson Andrew Bozinovski said a long-term absence of spectators would financially put many clubs "on the brink".

"I think a lot of clubs will still have a lot of their player bonuses paid through sponsorship, but definitely outgoings and overheads are heavily reliant on canteen takings and the like," Bozinovski said. "And with the program ever-expanding and putting more pressure on clubs, any little changes to the potential revenues would have massive impacts on clubs."

Northern NSW Football chief David Eland was awaiting further details of the FFA guidelines on Monday. He said any decisions on spectator bans would be made by the NNSWF board in consultation with FFA.

"It's not something that will be easy to reach consensus on because every club will have different circumstances," Eland said.

"But we'll be making every effort to consider whatever FFA send through."

Johnson said issues would need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis but competition administrators "will obviously need to follow the guidelines, which are stronger than the government rules, and if the specific competition wants to introduce even higher guidelines they can if there's an exceptional circumstance."

"We've obviously taken some measures that put unfortunate restrictions on our fans attending football matches but we want to stress that we are doing this and we're thinking about your own interests."

He encouraged fans to continue engaging with football through social media and digital platforms.

Eland said NNSWF would need to look at the confirmed FFA guidelines and see how they apply to our local competitions.

NNSWF was also working with its zone administrations on how coronavirus guidelines would apply to large community with multiple pitches.

Below is advise issued from NNSWF on Monday.

A summary of precautions is listed below:-

-Senior training sessions and fixtures should only be attended by players, team officials, match officials and volunteers who are essential to the conduct of the activity;

-Junior training sessions and fixtures should only be attended by players accompanied by one parent, team officials, match officials and volunteers who are essential to the conduct of the activity;

-Parents attending junior football should exercise social distancing and spread out around the pitch i.e. not congregate in close proximity wither side of half-way when watching fixtures;

-Players should refrain from any interaction including post goal celebrations which include close contact. A fist pump is adequate in the current circumstances

-Players, team officials and match officials should refrain from shaking hands and/or embracing before and after matches

-Team huddles should be avoided, and

-Team meetings in enclosed changerooms should be kept to a minimum.