The event, scheduled to be held at the Saville Community Sports Centre in the Canadian city between August 28 and September 4, will be the ninth edition of the World Championships.

Last year’s Championships were due to take place in Glasgow in the United Kingdom but were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The World Dodgeball Federation is delighted to be partnering with Dodgeball Canada to bring the event to Edmonton," said its President Duane Wysynski.

"We are treating this event as an international return-to-play and a celebration of the sport.

"It will be more than just the championships, as we will be hosting a sports conference and industry exposition as a means to bring our members together along with leaders in other sports and sport organisations."

There are two primary disciplines in dodgeball - foam format, which is popular in the Americas, Africa and Asia, and cloth format, the dominant genre in Europe and parts of Asia.

Both disciplines will be on display in a single World Championships for the first time in the sport’s history.

Women’s and men’s divisions will be joined by a mixed division, which features equal representation on the court for women and men.

More than 30 countries are expected to attend, including the defending men’s and women’s champions from the United States.

Past foam champions have included Malaysia, Canada and Hong Kong, while Austria and the UK are regarded as the top cloth nations in the world.

The first World Championships were held in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia in 2012.

The last World Championships took place in 2019 in Cancun in Mexico.

This will be the second time that Canada has held the World Championships having previously staged the event in Toronto in 2017 when Malaysia won the gold medals in both the men and women’s competitions.

"We are extremely proud of our reputation for hosting sport and cultural events," said Explore Edmonton director Janelle Janis.

"We are ready and committed to hosting this incredible event in 2022."