Central Highlands Football League president Doug Hobson isn't shutting the door on the competition getting underway without spectator access in 2020.
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And Hobson holds an element of confidence his league will be able to manage social distancing regulations if play is allowed this year.
As it stands, leagues have been put on hold until at least May 31 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
READ MORE: CHFL starts talks about delayed season
"I'm probably more confident they'll let us have crowds at the moment than they will the AFL," Hobson said.
"We can social distance to a reasonable extent more so than the AFL I think."
Hobson said if football was allowed to return without crowds, it might still be worth running a competition.
"For the clubs it probably would be (worth it), for the supporters it's going to be hard," he said. "If you wanted to spend the expense, you could go down the track of taping the games and have a live stream of them.
"I think people are going to get there and be a little bit more cautious. If you are elderly or have got an underlying problem, I can understand them not wanting to come to the football. But mind you, you pull in the gate, you sit in your car, you bring your stuff with you or have someone ferry some food over to you... that's fairly good isolation."
Hobson said if a season was to go ahead without crowds, having "minimum or no payment to players" would have to be looked at given clubs' inability to make money through avenues such as gate fees or canteen/bar sales.
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan admitted on Monday that it would be "challenging" to host crowds this year.
"That doesn't mean it won't happen later in the year, but certainly not contemplating crowds at the start," McLachlan told 3AW.
"And I think if you take a line through what Brett Sutton said, who in Victoria will be the guy making the decision, I think it's a challenge to have (crowds) at all this year."
