GAME TIME

SFA & SPFL to present Scottish Government with plan to begin new Premiership season behind closed doors on August 1

SCOTTISH football is set to lay out plans to start the new Scottish Premiership season on August 1.

The SFA and SPFL will present the plans for football to begin behind closed doors in Scotland to Holyrood today.

The August start date has been targeted to ensure the terms of the new £125million five-year broadcasting deal with Sky Sports are met.

SFA chief Ian Maxwell and Neil Doncaster from the SPFL are set to present a detailed proposal to Health and Sports Minister Joe FitzPatrick and National Clinical Director Jason Leitch.

It's hoped it will allow for a return of domestic football after last season was cut short amid the Covid-19 crisis.

The six to eight week plan will reveal a return-to-training protocol based on medical advice before the season begins.

Players and officials would face tests for coronavirus twice a week, as clubs to follow a social distancing programme and individual training building up to full contact training.

The SFA will lift the suspension of Scottish football IF the Scottish Government are convinced by the new report.

Grassroots and amateur football would be reviewed at a later date.

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An SFA source told the Daily Mail: "The important thing to stress is that the six to eight-week plan is movable.

"If government say August 1 is too soon, then the plan still remains the same.

"Naturally, the SPFL want to resume playing on August 1 when the Sky deal kicks in. But the plan is the most important part."

If the Scottish Premiership season is agreed to start again in August it could lead to a Championship return in October with an 18-game season.

League One and Two clubs face a longer wait with clubs told testing procedures would cost between £3,000 and £5,000 per week, despite no gate income from matches.