Around €20,000 (£17,000/$21,500) will be on offer for the world’s fastest kiteracers at the competition, due to begin on Wednesday (November 16) and take place until Saturday (November 19).

The event will see world champions crowned in the IKA KiteFoil classes during the week of competition.

Taking place at the Pearl, an artificial island spanning nearly four million square metres, the proceedings are being hosted by the Qatar Sailing and Marine Sports Association.

The Italian leg of the series took place in Gizzeria in July, with the event held after a competition in South Korea was cancelled.

The South Korean event was due to be held in May but eventually did not take place.

Qatar has become accustom to holding IKA events, having previously hosted the 2014 Formula Kite Asian Championships.

The competition is set to take place just a few days after the IKA and the Global Kitesports Association signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with World Sailing to form a new governance structure for the discipline.

Under the terms of the MoU, the IKA will continue to be responsible for racing and first past the post disciplines of kiteboarding.