The German Bundesliga season can resume this month, Chancellor Angela Merkel has confirmed.
It will become the first major league in Europe to return to competition, with a date for resumption to be confirmed by the German Football League (DFL) on Thursday.
All matches in the German Bundesliga will be played behind closed doors.
With nine games remaining, Bayern Munich are top of the table, four points above Borussia Dortmund.
Christian Seifert, chief executive of the DFL, said: “Today’s decision is good news for the Bundesliga and the Bundesliga 2.
“It is associated with a great responsibility for the clubs and their employees to implement the medical and organisational requirements in a disciplined manner.
“Games without spectators are not an ideal solution for anyone. In a crisis threatening the very existence of some clubs, however, it is the only way to keep the leagues in their current form.”
The announcement comes a day after clubs in the top two German divisions returned 10 positive results from 1,724 coronavirus tests.
T
he DFL had warned that many top-division teams would be in an “existence-threatening” financial position if play did not resume by June.
German Bundesliga Players returned to training last month, with the DFL initially saying the league would be ready to return on 9 May.
Germany has banned large events with crowds until 24 October, so games will be behind closed doors, but the DFL has developed a health and safety plan that would see only about 300 people or near the pitch during matches, to minimise the risk of infection.
According to official figures, just under 7,000 people have died in Germany from coronavirus, a much lower figure than in other western European countries including the UK, Italy, France and Spain.