Football fans will be allowed back into stadiums in the autumn, Boris Johnson has announced.
Matches have been played behind closed doors since June when elite competitive sports were allowed to resume for the first time since March.
Outlining the next phases of lockdown lifting today, the Prime Minister said fixtures could go ahead in front of live audiences from October.
"From October, we intend to bring back audiences into stadia and to allow conferences and other business events to resume," he said in a televised address this morning.
Pilot projects will take place from August before a wider reopening in autumn, he said.
It is not clear when the Premier League season will resume - though it is likely to be no sooner than September or October.
The Champions League and Europa League, which Manchester City and Manchester United are involved in respectively, is to be played abroad in August.
After confirming plans to reopen leisure settings such as bowling alleys and skating rinks from August 1, he added: "We will restart indoor performances to a live audience, subject to the success of pilots.
"We will also pilot larger gatherings in venues like sports stadia with a view to a wider reopening in autumn.
"All of these measures from August 1 should be done in a Covid-secure way."
The last games of the Premier League will be played on July 26, followed by the FA Cup final on August 1.
