The Spanish city, which hosted the most recent edition of the World Sailing Championships in 2014, will stage the season finale from June 4 to 11.

It is scheduled to follow stops in Miami from January 22 to 29 and the French commune of Hyères from April 23 to 30 as part of a shortened World Cup series in 2017.

Rio 2016 Olympic medallists automatically qualify for the 2017 Sailing World Cup Final and they will be joined by winners of the events in Miami and Hyères.

Following next year’s edition of World Sailing’s regular calendar of competitions, it will then incorporate three rounds and a final from 2018.

The governing body has confirmed that Japan will hold a Sailing World Cup round each October from 2017 through to 2019, before the country stages the final in July 2020 ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

The 2017-2018 campaign is due to get underway with a competition in Gamagori before it proceeds to the usual destinations of Miami and Hyères, culminating in the final in Kiel in June or July.

Kiel will hold the event during Kieler-Woche, the long running festival of sailing that attracts three-million visitors.

"Both Santander and Kiel offer excellent sailing conditions and the opportunity to excite sailing with the public attending each event and through digital media," World Sailing President Carlo Croce, who will stand for re-election on November 13 at the ongoing Annual Conference and General Assembly in Barcelona, said.

"Both venues have the Sailing World Cup vision at their heart and will provide the world's best sailors' with a great opportunity to showcase our sport."

The news comes after Melbourne stepped in to replace Abu Dhabi as the host of the 2016 Sailing World Cup final in April.

Abu Dhabi withdrew from hosting this year’s event in March after World Sailing’s Executive Committee awarded their Annual Conference to Barcelona rather than the United Arab Emirates city.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority pulled its financial support for the season-ending finale in protest at the choice to hand the Annual Conference, the largest yearly gathering of officials in the sport where key decisions are made, to Europe.

The final in Melbourne is set to be held at the St Kilda Sailing Precinct from December 4 to 11.