The English Football League will attempt to move its December 1 fixture schedule to a day later in order to take advantage of the decision to allow fans back into grounds.
On Monday Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that as of December 2 up to 4,000 supporters can attend matches depending on levels of Covid-19 in the area.
EFL chairman Rick Parry says the decision is a "lifeline" for lower-league clubs and will now try to move some of next Tuesday's matches to Wednesday in order to get fans in as quickly as possible.
"We welcome the Prime Minister's announcement because clearly we've been pushing for the return of fans for some considerable time," Parry told Radio Four's Today programme.
"We have to build upon it because what we are really looking forward to is getting fans back in more substantial numbers but this is a really welcome start.
"At League One and League Two level it could be very significant. It's not just the money it's a very welcome return to an atmosphere, and if we get 4,000 at League Two level it would be very welcome. It can be a very welcome lifeline."
"It's great news for fans, they've been missing their football. All being well this is just the start."
While some clubs will have to continue to play behind closed doors under the Government's three-tier system, those in tiers one and two can allow fans in.
Bournemouth, QPR, Sunderland, Oxford, Plymouth and Colchester are among the clubs due to host matches on December 1, who could in theory switch to 24 hours later.
"We need the detail," added Parry. "Clearly we have a number of games taking place on December 1, in theory we will be as flexible as we can if they can be moved to December 2. But we don't know which clubs will be in which tier yet.
"We won't know that until Thursday. We will need permissions from the safety advisory groups, we need to know this is done properly so it's one step at a time."
However, Parry admits there will be some logistical hurdles to overcome if clubs are going to be able to welcome back supporters.
"Some clubs will still have safety officers on furlough, it's taken everyone a bit by surprise," he said.
Spectators will be able to return to sports stadia in tier one and tier two from 2 December. Capacity limits will ensure limited numbers of sports fans can safely get back into grounds to support their teams, in areas where #coronavirus cases are lowhttps://t.co/MtZJsTTXMX pic.twitter.com/uub8mwxMuw — DCMS (@DCMS) November 23, 2020
"We weren't really expecting anything before Christmas. There's a lot of work to do quite quickly and it's really important that we get this right.
"It's not a case of rushing into this and tripping over. It's a case of being measured, getting it right,
"The clubs will be taken by surprise because they were expecting nothing really before Christmas. We've been involved in discussions with the DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) who've been incredibly supportive.
"Clearly it's something we've been pressing for but it's literally in the last few days that it has become a reality."
