First Minister Mark Drakeford has left the door open for Welsh fans to return to sports events in person this year.
The Welsh Government will monitor the success of pilot events elsewhere in the UK, as it did last year, while "modest" pilot events are set to take place in Wales when conditions allow.
But fans will be expected to attend events in a way which accounts for the risk that coronavirus could still present, so social distancing and reduced capacity events would look highly likely.
Speaking at Monday's Welsh Government coronavirus briefing, Mr Drakeford was asked whether he could see a pathway to spectators returning to watch sports events in 2021.
He said: "We will continue to approach that issue the way we did last year. There will be pilots, there will be experiments, they will happen in other parts of the United Kingdom, and we will learn lessons of those.
"We want to be able to carry out some modest pilots here in Wales, and when conditions allow, we would want to do that.
"If the pilots go well, and if the situation with the virus continues to improve then I don't think it is beyond the realms of possibilty at all, that by the end of this calendar year we might see the return of spectators to sporting venues, albeit, it will have to be in ways that take account of the continuing risk that coronavirus would pose."
Sports fans haven't been able to attend events in Wales since March 2020, just before the country went into lockdown as the coronavirus pandemic hit.
On the prospect of fans returning to larger events like Welsh rugby and football games, Championship football or PRO14 fixtures, the Welsh Government was last year looking to the success of pilot events in England to inform its decision.
But this news is set to be a welcome boost for all sports in Wales, including horseracing, cricket and netball.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "Over the course of the pandemic we have worked closely with the events sector which has put forward a range of potential ideas for test events to build on those held last year. Plans for such events will depend on the public health situation."
