Details surrounding the Grand Slam Champions’ Series, which is due to be inaugurated in December in Chinese city Wuxi, come two days before the start of the World Taekwondo Championships at Muju’s Taekwondowon venue.

It will see the top 12 athletes in each of the eight Olympic weight categories, based on their Championship titles, compete in a single-elimination format.

An additional wild card will be awarded to the respective host city with each tournament in the series featuring just one weight category and "enlivened with the razzmatazz of top sports presentation, specifically packaged for global television".

The series will offer annual prize money of $800,000 (£631,000/€716,000), or $100,000 (£79,000/€90,000) per Olympic weight category with $70,000 (£55,000/€63,000) for the victor, $20,000 (£16,000/€18,000) for the runner-up and $10,000 (£8,000/€9,000) for the third-place finisher.

In addition, the top two to three players in the series will be offered commercial endorsements from the sponsor.

The overall victor in each weight category over the three-year cycle will win an Olympic slot.

In an attempt to ensure that the operation runs smoothly, the WTF will establish a joint-venture company with Shanghai Jijin Investment to manage the Grand Slam project.

In response to questions from the Council, WTF President Chungwon Choue provided assurances that all appropriate legal steps were being taken.

It is claimed 95 per cent of the financial investment will be made by Jijin Investment, which will operate the new format in Wuxi.

"We desperately need taekwondo stars," Choue said as he introduced the thinking behind the series. 

"We have many talented athletes, but until now, we don’t have media stars."

The South Korean also lamented that taekwondo lacks commercial muscle.

"Compared to boxing, our money is really nothing," he added.

WTF director general Jin-bang Yang delivered a presentation on the series.

He noted that the most significant innovation the WTF has introduced since the London 2012 Olympic Games has been the elite Grand Prix series, which offers the sport’s top-ranked athletes high-level competitive opportunities, ranking points and prize money.

But the WTF claims the Grand Prix series "still lacks the Hollywood-style presentation of world-class sports events, such as pro-boxing, and top-level prize money".

The aim of the new series, Yang said, is to package taekwondo as a product for global television audiences, with best-in-class sound, light, camera and pre and post-production systems, in a bid to raise taekwondo’s recognition and commercial value.

The WTF Council meeting also saw the approval of an extra Grand Prix to be added to the existing four-edition series over the next two years, in Italy’s capital Rome in May, and an annual World Beach Championships following the inaugural event on Greek island Rhodes last month.

Additionally, the Council selected host cities for a range of upcoming events.

After a blind ballot, Fujairah, one of the seven Emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, beat Bulgaria’s capital Sofia for the right to host the 2018 Grand Prix Final and World Team Championships.

Tunisian town Hammamet will host the 2018 World Junior Taekwondo Championships, while the opening Grand Prix of 2018 and 2019 was awarded to Rome.

The third leg of the 2019 Grand Prix series went to Sofia and the 2020 Grand Prix Final and World Team Championships was given to Tunisia’s capital Tunis.

In other business, the Council approved a number of agenda items to be voted on at tomorrow’s WTF General Assembly in Muju, where Choue is set to be re-elected for a new four-year term as President.

Motions approved by the Council included amendments to WTF statutes.

One change was the formalisation of existing honorary vice-president roles.

A second was to the reporting requirements for Member National Associations, who will now be allowed to pay their fees to the WTF in February every year, instead of the previous December.

A third change was to the structure of WTF Committees, with the addition of six sub-committees in specialised areas and the re-listing of them in alphabetical order.

Also approved were changes to event operation rules and ranking bylaws, the latter being points for repechage, as well as alterations to the Para-taekwondo competition rules for point allocations and new requirements for prospective international Para-taekwondo referees.

Furthermore, the WTF’s financial and operational reports were reviewed with the Council hearing the latest information on updates to the Global Membership System.

Secretary general Hoss Rafaty briefed the Council on the Executive Committee meeting held earlier in the day.

Rafaty asked for the broadest possible authority to be given to Choue to negotiate the new Grand Slam Champions’ series.

He also spoke about the duties of new Council members, while plans for the upcoming General Assembly and WTF elections were presented.

In a special agenda item, Choue presented African Taekwondo Union head, General Ahmad Fouly, with a special letter and black belt to give to Zein Youssef - an Egyptian boy who has successfully battled cancer.

Choue praised Youssef for his "courage and indomitable spirit".

Finally, the Council approved the text of a special declaration which will be made at the General Assembly.