NATIONAL League clubs are meeting with Sport England today after a group of 17 teams in the North and South divisions called for the season to be curtailed.

All 66 clubs at Steps 1 and 2 of the National League system will be given information about funding available as part of the Government’s Sport Winter Survival Package.

They will be advised on how to apply for a low-interest loan and learn the exact criteria for receiving a grant.

The meeting could be decisive in persuading clubs whether to play on or bring the season to an end as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues to take its toll at the levels of the football pyramid below the EFL.

The National League’s board is also understood to be in the process of drafting a resolution to go out to clubs early next week on the outcome of the season.

One of the options likely to be open to clubs is curtailment, something 17 clubs have already called for in a statement issued on Thursday.

The voting process on which resolution should be carried is also still to be decided, it is understood.

The Government announced on Wednesday that a provisional £11million in low-interest loans was being made available to the Step 1 and 2 clubs, with grants available where loans are demonstrated to be unaffordable for individual clubs in line with the support offered for other sports.

Sports minister Nigel Huddleston said at the time: “If clubs at those levels can demonstrate it needs grant funding urgently to survive, we will ensure that option is available. We will not let clubs go to the wall.”

Clubs in Steps 1 and 2 received a cash injection from the National Lottery in October in order to begin the season, in a commercial deal brokered by the Government.

Clubs in Steps 3 to 6 of the National League system will be given up to £10million in grant funding, the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced on Wednesday.