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THE message from the majority of North Central league clubs was clear to the board on Thursday night - they'd had enough of the cloud of uncertainty hanging over season 2020 and wanted a decision made.

And so it was: the 2020 season for football has been cancelled.

"We were going to hold off until June 15, but clubs were getting keen to find out one way or another what we were doing because everyone wasn't sure whether to start training or go through the protocols to get training going," NCFL chairman Tim Lockhart said on Friday.

"And player interest was starting to wane, so we met on Thursday night and clubs decided that rather than putting off a decision for another couple of weeks to make it now.

"It wasn't a unanimous decision, but the majority ruled to make the call on cancelling the season, which is what we've done."

A media release issued by the NCFL on Friday morning stated while the decision to abandon 2020 is difficult, "the health and safety of all involved in the North Central Football League is paramount."

"The financial impact of a part-season, along with additional onerous requirements asked of club volunteers for return to play, formed part of the decision not to commence," the statement continues.

"Confirmation of dates as to when full club training may start and without an indication of season start dates or crowd numbers permitted to venues, the NCFL board and member clubs have agreed not to conduct a competition in season 2020."

With the North Central league pulling the pin, two of the region's competitions have now made the call after Heathcote District did the same two weeks ago, becoming the first league in the state to abandon 2020.

While clubs are now permitted to do non-contact training in groups of 20, a timeframe on a path back to playing this year and whether crowds will be permitted is still unclear.

"We as a board are there to act in the best interests of North Central football and the decision of the clubs was fairly clear cut," Lockhart said.

"There's probably a bit of relief that comes with making it. We hope it's the right one and we're confident it is with the information we have at the time.

"But it's a sad moment to know that there's going to be no football for North Central this year. Unfortunately, that's the reality of COVID-19.

"We'll look to crank back up bigger and stronger next year for our communities."

This year is the first season of no North Central football since the league went into recess from 1941-44 during World War 2.

AFL Central Victoria commission chairman Nicholas Rolfe said earlier this week there was no right or wrong approach to leagues having either made the call to abandon their seasons or are still clinging to a glimmer of hope of playing in 2020.

"The wants and needs of different leagues have to be satisfied for what they believe is best for their league. If leagues think they can run a viable competition within the timeframe under the guidelines proposed by the state government, well so be it," Rolfe said.

"But it's the great unknown. It's a great idea to play provided no-one gets sick, but if someone becomes ill then it could be a disaster too because football and netball thrives on social contact."

Lockhart indicated that had the league pressed on with trying to stage a condensed season, several clubs would have struggled to field reserves teams.

The North Central league is unique in that not only does it have the traditional football and netball competitions, but also hockey as well, with the three codes all run independently.

If clubs have a full quota of teams, a day in the North Central league could feature up to 14 games across football (four), netball (six) and hockey (four) competitions.

"We're really proud of what we've got up here with the footy, netball and hockey. It's a real family day and often when our recruits play their first games they get a shock at how many people we get to our games," Lockhart said.

"It's a great community day and our area would be lost without it... unfortunately we're about to find out just how much we miss it and what it means for our social being."

With the football season cancelled, the North Central Netball Association will be the next to make a call when it meets on Tuesday night.

"All our clubs have been notified that the football season is off. Officially, the netball hasn't been cancelled and a meeting will be held on Tuesday to discuss season 2020," NCNA administrator Jan Mannes said.

While there is no decision yet on netball, St Arnaud has already informed the association it won't be playing in 2020, while Wycheproof-Narraport and Sea Lake Nandaly have indicated the same.

Meanwhile, North Central Hockey Association president Angela Poxon says, at this stage, the hockey door is remaining ajar for some sort of competition this year.

"We will probably look at some alternatives because we are stand-alone," Poxon said.

"We can't guarantee something will happen, but we know from some of our clubs perspective that they will continue to train and look at player development and work on the fact that getting together is good for physical and mental health in our communities.

"We've already had a lot of informal conversations around what-if scenarios, and now we need to go back and re-visit that."

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