The competition, due to run from September 6 to 7 in the Turkish city, is the first Karate1 tournament to be held since May, marking the resumption of the WKF's flagship calendar of events.

It will be the seventh event of its kind to take place this year following editions in Paris, Sharm El-Sheikh, Rotterdam, Dubai, Salzburg and Rabat.

The Karate1 in Istanbul will also be the first to be staged since the sport was officially granted a place on the Olympic programme for the Games in Tokyo in four years' time, which was confirmed at the recent International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session ahead of Rio 2016.

With two weeks still to go until the first day of action in Istanbul, a regular on the Karate1 series, the WKF are hopeful more karatekas from across the world will participate at the event.

It is set to mark the beginning of a busy period for the sport, with Fortaleza scheduled to play host to the next Karate1 tournament after Istanbul from September 17 to 18.

Hamburg will be the destination of the penultimate competition of the season from September 24 to 25 before the series' concludes in its traditional home of Okinawa from October 1 to 2.

There will be little respite for the planet's top competitors, with the WKF World Championships in Linz in Australia, slated for October 25 to 30, looming large on the horizon.

The Karate1 Premier League is braced to undergo widespread changes effective from 2017 in order to enhance the visibility of the sport.

The best eight events based on the 2016 season will form the basis of the new calendar, which will incorporate a slightly different format.

Competitions will be held over three days instead of two, with finals, scheduled for the Sunday of each event, televised across the world by the WKF and a series of rights holders.

The WKF have already made agreements with television companies, as well as a commercial arm to help market and sell the rights to the events.