The IAAF World Indoor Tour made a successful debut in 2016 ©Getty Images

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Indoor Tour, launched earlier, will expand with the inclusion of two further meetings by 2018, it has been announced. 

The inaugural season of the IAAF World Indoor Tour was composed of four well-established IAAF Indoor Permit meetings.

The tour ran from 6 to 20 February and opened in Karlsruhe in Germany, crossed over the Atlantic to Boston in the United States before returning back to Europe for meetings in Stockholm in Sweden, and Glasgow in Britain.

It was also decided to include the meeting in Düsseldorf in Germany in next year's Tour. 

The Tour will then expand further to six meetings in 2018 with the addition of a non-European meeting.

The IAAF World Indoor Tour, which is based upon a points and prize money system, has given the international indoor season a formal unified structure, the IAAF claim.

The individual overall winner of each event receives $20,000 (£14,000/€18,000) in prize money and a "wild card" entry to the IAAF World Indoor Championships, held earlier this month in Portland in the US. 

“The introduction of the IAAF World Indoor Tour is an important addition to the promotion of athletics," Sebastian Coe, the President of the IAAF, said. 

"The winter track season now has a structure which cements the best invitational indoor track meets together and links them directly to the IAAF World Indoor Championships.

"It’s a model which is easily understandable for athletes, media and fans alike.”

Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers was among the leading names who took part in this year's edition of the IAAF World Indoor Tour, which will expand to five events next year with the addition of Düsseldorf ©Getty Images
Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers was among the leading names who took part in this year's edition of the IAAF World Indoor Tour, which will expand to five events next year with the addition of Düsseldorf ©Getty Images

Coe added: “Indoor athletics was an important part of my running career.

"My first international title in 1977 and my last world record in 1983 were set indoors.

“Indoor athletics is close-up sport. Spectators are separated by no more than a few feet from the competing athletes.

"This is why the IAAF World Indoor Tour is important as it helps to promote what is a unique sporting experience.”

Düsseldorf meeting director Marc Osenberg was pleased to be invited to join the series. 

"We are excited to be joining the IAAF World Indoor Tour," he said. 

"As a relatively young meeting we are especially keen to be a member of this new global athletics brand.

"Together with the other meeting organisers we will work together to promote the attraction of indoor athletics. As public recognition of the IAAF World Indoor Tour grows the individual meetings and indoor athletics as a whole will all be winners."