THE Football Association of Wales should take action and cancel the domestic season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Welsh Government’s decision to extend the lockdown for a further three weeks makes the governing body’s plans to restart on June 6 unlikely. They must now begin making plans for what comes next and bring the current campaign to a permanent halt.

This is going to have significant ramifications for clubs across the country, but the difficult decision is one that has already been made by leagues throughout the continent and now is the time for the FAW to follow suit.

A bigger question would be regarding the outstanding matters surrounding the season. One sensible method would be “sporting chance”, which would dictate league positioning to be decided on points per game.

Whether this will come with any promotion or relegation remains to be seen. There is an argument for it to be included in such plans, given how much of the season has transpired. Some clubs have made a huge financial commitment and it would be a real shame if their efforts on and off the pitch were for nothing.

While such a decision would be a considerable blow to the domestic game, football is simply a secondary issue at the present time and while the FAW were hoping that the coronavirus threat might have dissipated by now, there are still more than 600 people dying every day in the UK, which now has the highest death toll in Europe.

Playing behind closed doors remains a possibility, but this might do more harm than good for clubs who are already feeling the financial effects of Covid-19. Most teams operating in the top three tiers are now paying players, and when one considers the administrative fees for referees and other things that go along with the day-to-day running, it would be unfeasible for clubs to cope with this as no matchday income would be coming in.

The FAW gave themselves every chance of getting the season finished, but the simple fact is they've run out of time. Much of their decision-making so far has been based around UEFA money and their coefficient ranking, where they will not want to lose ground.

With the new tier structure coming in next season, taking this decision to cancel the season with a proper plan on how it should conclude would give those teams a chance of making sure their grounds are up to scratch in time for the extended deadline, which should even be extended further given the lack of work currently going on at grounds.

European places in the top-tier can be split between those clubs who will occupy those positions after points-per-game has been allocated. Cup competitions might not come to a formal outcome, but the prize money can be split between teams to soften the blow.

This is a hugely controversial topic and clubs have been pushing their own agendas throughout the social distancing measures. A lot of hard work has gone into the season and those involved deserve all the credit in the world. But the simple matter of fact is that this is a situation that doesn’t appear to be relenting anytime soon and it is time for the FAW to start using their own initiative.

Cancelling the season is not going to be popular, but it is now the only option.