The Saudi Arabian Government has confirmed vaccinated fans will be allowed to attend sporting events from May 17 ©Getty Images

Saudi Arabian citizens who have been vaccinated against coronavirus are set to be permitted to attend sporting events at venues with a 40 per cent capacity.

The country’s Sports Ministry confirmed the rule will come into force from May 17 as the Kingdom bids to ramp up its vaccination programme.

As an exception, vaccinated football fans were given permission to watch Saudi Arabia’s match against Palestine in Riyadh on March 30.

The fixture was a joint qualifier for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup with Saudi Arabia cruising to a 5-0 victory.

Admission will be allowed for people with "immune" status on the Tawakkalna mobile phone app which was launched by Saudi authorities last year to help track coronavirus infections, according to Reuters.

Saudi Arabia has been rolling out its vaccination programme ©Getty Images
Saudi Arabia has been rolling out its vaccination programme ©Getty Images

Other anti-virus measures including face masks and social distancing would also be required once inside the stadium.

Football matches in Saudi Arabia have been played behind closed doors since March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Saudi Arabia registered 590 new cases and seven fatalities yesterday to increase the country’s overall death toll from coronavirus to 6,676.

More than four million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Saudi Arabia which has an estimated population of 34 million.