It is being organised alongside the Portuguese Karate Federation, with the country's capital Lisbon selected as the venue as it is scheduled to host the first event of the 2021 season - the Karate 1-Premier League Lisbon, between February 19 and 21.

The WKF say the purpose for arranging the event is to "ensure the correct application of the COVID-19 guidelines" and to evaluate "all the different requirements and new regulations that need to be implemented at competitions as a result of the coronavirus pandemic."

Organised in cooperation with the Portuguese Karate Federation, the test event aims to "demonstrate the efficiency of the WKF COVID-19 guidelines" and "streamline the modified competition protocol to minimise the effects of the epidemic at major tournaments."

National competitions have taken place in countries including Belarus, Spain and China since the pandemic forced an almost complete shutdown of the sport, but the test event is due to be the first organised by the WKF.

"The WKF COVID-19 test event is the first WKF event that we are organising in nearly ten months," said WKF President Antonio Espinós.

"In this time, all the different bodies of the WKF have worked incessantly to ensure a safe return to activity.

"We decided to take all the necessary precautions before hosting an actual event, as the safety of our competitors is our main concern. 

"This test event represents the final step in this process and the right way to demonstrate that karate is truly a safe sport.

"I want to thank the Portuguese Karate Federation and its President Carlos Silva for their proactivity and for all their efforts to make this event a success, and for the strong collaboration between the local organising team and the WKF team."