Fans could be back in English stadiums for the final weekend of the Premier League season and there are hopes the Euro 2020 final will be played at a full Wembley under plans announced on Monday.
Under a four-step roadmap to ease the coronavirus lockdown announced by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, elite sport will continue behind closed doors until May 17 at the earliest.
But if there are no setbacks, crowds of up to 10,000 or 25 percent of seated capacity, whichever is lower, will be allowed to return.
The Premier League season is due to finish on May 23. Other than a small number of matches played in front of 2,000 spectators late last year, the 2020/21 season has been played behind closed doors.
All further restrictions would then be lifted on June 21 in time for a series of major sports events in England.
The semi-finals and final of Euro 2020, which has been delayed by a year due to the pandemic, are scheduled to take place at Wembley on July 6, 7 and 11.
Wimbledon's tennis Grand Slam, which last year was abandoned for the first time since World War II, is due to return on June 28 and golf's British Open runs from July 15 to 18 at Royal St George's in Kent.
Britain is one of the countries hardest-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, with more than 120,000 deaths.
But Johnson said that with a mass vaccination program easing pressure on overstretched hospitals, "the end really is in sight."
A Sunday Times newspaper report at the weekend said Britain could offer to host more Euro 2020 matches or the whole tournament due to the potential for crowds to return earlier than in other European countries.
On top of the semi-finals and final, Wembley and Hampden Park in Glasgow are due to host four matches each in the group stages and last 16 of the competition.
European football's governing body Uefa has so far publicly insisted it is sticking to the original plan of using 12 host cities across the continent despite the logistical challenges.
The Football Association welcomed the easing of restrictions, saying: "The FA is absolutely delighted that fans will be allowed back soon ... The game is simply not the same without them."
