But Football Wagga insist their hands have effectively been tied, and have indicated they will continue to lobby with council on behalf of the clubs.

Soccer will be the first code to return from hiatus when juniors kick off on the weekend of July 4, followed by seniors on July 11.

While the 11-week regular season, plus finals, is longer than other codes, Smith said he was optimistic soccer would follow the likes of AFL Riverina in cutting affiliation and insurance costs, while their umpires have also taken a pay cut.

Capital Football also announced recently they would halve registration fees this year, with the ACT government to also pay all field hire fees for ACT-based clubs.

Smith said last month the Hawks would delay a return to training until they had some clarity on registration, with squads back training last week.

"Wagga City Council and Football Wagga haven't adjusted any fees, which is disappointing but it is what is is, we just have to deal with it from a club point of view," Smith said.

"It will be a tough year for clubs when a lot of our sponsors are also doing it tough.

"We just hope everyone sticks by the clubs to get through this year. We'll find other avenues and other ways to look after everyone over the next couple of years.

"It's disappointing we haven't done the same thing (as other codes). We want to get all the seniors and kids coming back first, and then as a board we'll sort through and find other avenues.

"The biggest fee is ref fees and they haven't moved either. Senior players pay nearly $400 for rego and that doesn't include shorts and tops, things like that."

Football Wagga president Tony Dobbin understands the frustration of some clubs, but said their operating costs also haven't changed.

"There was a number (of clubs) hoping the fees could come down," Dobbin said.

"As an organisation we have six set costs we need to meet. Football NSW has done a very slight reduction in their fees, and Football Federation Australia which we also pay a fee to haven't changed anything.

"We still have to meet the loan we have, the council charges are still there and so on.

"Even though there's less games and only about two thirds than usual, all our fixed overheads still exist.

"We've told the clubs we'll still continue to negotiate on their behalf to try and get some sort of fee relief, but I think the reality is if you're going to play a season which is two thirds of your usual games and a full finals series, there's not much scope for that."

Dobbin said the fact they have now settled on a season make-up would make discussions with council easier.

"When this all (coronavirus) started any council didn't know if a season was going to go ahead, or how it was going to affect things. Now it's going ahead, we will approach council and go through a formal process," he said.

"It's a difficult task and we've had a lot of pushback, but the message is there's a season. We could have cancelled the season, and that wouldn't have done anybody any good.

"Where we know clubs are hurting is they're not getting money from sponsors, but what I'm hearing from all clubs is they are keeping faith with those sponsors.

"They're saying even if you're not paying us money you're still on our shirts, we're still going to visit the pub and recommend your butchery.

"We want the players to keep that going because they need that faith and publicity."

Football Wagga recently revealed they would re-introduce a 'cup' and 'plate' format for this season, where teams play each other once before they're divided into a top and bottom half.

They will then play another three games against other teams in their division, followed by a three-week finals series.

READ MORE