Domestic competitive sport behind closed doors will be allowed from Monday, the UK government says.
The ‘phase three’ guidance paves the way for live sport to return on 1 June for the first time since mid-March.
It is up to individual sports to assess the risk, and consult athletes, coaches and support staff.
Horse racing and snooker will each resume competitive action on Monday, while the Premier League is due to restart on 17 June.
Clubs in England’s top flight returned to ‘phase two’ contact training on 25 May.
On Saturday, the Premier League confirmed that no players or staff tested positive from the latest batch of 1,130 coronavirus tests conducted on Thursday and Friday. So far, 12 people have tested positive from 3,882 tests across the league.
“The wait is over. Live British sport will shortly be back on in safe and carefully controlled environments,” said the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden.
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“This guidance provides the safe framework for sports to resume competitions behind closed doors. It is now up to individual sports to confirm they can meet these protocols and decide when it’s right for them to restart.”
Speaking at the daily UK Government coronavirus briefing, Dowden added: “Football, tennis, horse racing, Formula 1, cricket, golf, rugby, snooker and others are all set to return to our screens shortly.”
