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The government says it is “opening the door” for the return of professional football to England in June.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said Thursday’s meeting with the Football Association, the Premier League and the English Football League had “made progress on the plans.”
He added that plans for the sport to resume should “include increased access for fans to see the coverage live.”
Meanwhile, England’s deputy chief medical officer said any return would be “slow” and “measured.”
The Premier League met on Monday to discuss “Project Restart” and hopes to return to action on June 12, with matches played behind closed doors.
“We all agree that we will only move forward if it is safe to do so and the health and well-being of the players, coaches and staff comes first,” Dowden said.
“It is now up to the soccer authorities to agree and finalize the details of their plans, and there is a combined goodwill to accomplish this for their fans, the soccer community and the nation as a whole.
“The government and our medical experts will continue to offer guidance and support.”
He added that plans to return should “ensure that the finances of the restart of the game support the broader family of soccer.”
The next meeting of the Premier League clubs will take place on Monday, when high-level players can return to initial group training under social distancing protocols.
So far, footballers have been limited to individual training, but the Premier League bosses expect the first week of a first phase of team training to begin, under strict guidelines and restricted to 75 minutes.
England Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam said: “There will be small, carefully measured, step-by-step approaches to see what can be accomplished safely. The first of these is to return to training safely, while continuing to observe social distancing. “
“We will have to see how that goes before we can think about moving on to the return of competitive football matches.”
Monday’s meeting will take place after a weekend when the Bundesliga, Germany’s main division, becomes the first major league to restart.
The Premier League has been suspended since March 13 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and most teams have nine games to play.
Brighton had a coronavirus-positive third-player test in early May, and boss Graham Potter is cautious about a return to action.
“We are in unknown territory. It is an enormously complex situation,” he said.
“It is very difficult to convene one day for the next. The general will of all clubs is to play the season as close to the format as possible. Any date that remains to be seen.”
“We are disinfecting the environment. The players will not be here for long.”
“It will be as safe as it should be. The challenge will be when [we have] contact, larger groups and different teams. We need to see where we are on Monday and then on Tuesday. “
He added: “There are concerns, of course. We have emerged from the confinement. The situation is not fully resolved.
“I have a young family. My wife’s family has health problems. We are human beings.”
Meanwhile, the Premier League confirmed that the clubs had decided that short-term contract extensions could be agreed with players whose offers run out on June 30, and the season is slated to go beyond that date.
The club and players will now have until June 23 to agree extensions to run until the campaign is scheduled to end.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said it was decided “to ensure as far as possible that clubs complete the season with the same team they had available prior to the campaign suspension.”
