(CNN) Saudi Arabia is starting to ease restrictions on women spectators in sports stadiums.

Starting in early 2018, women will be allowed into three arenas in major cities, according to a statement issued Sunday by the General Sport Authority, the country's governing body for sports.

The previously male-only venues of King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, King Abdullah Sport City in Jeddah, and Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam will begin preparations to "accommodate families," the statement said. Specific seating arrangements are unclear at the moment; Saudi men and women are customarily separated in places where they are both allowed.

The country has several stadiums ranging in size, but the government appears to have chosen the biggest and most important. The stadiums are home to six teams in the Saudi Professional League -- the top division -- and two of the three stadiums included have the highest seating capacity in the kingdom.

The change is the latest to give women more freedom following a historic decree in September allowing them to drive