A new age group event has been introduced by the International Korfball Federation ©IKF

A new Under-21 level Korfball Championships has been introduced and will be held on an annual basis from 2018.

This was decided by the International Korfball Federation (IKF) Council by a "clear choice", a statement said, and was taken in order to "invest in the future of korfball by putting more emphasis on youth competition".

An under-21 event will take place every year in the mixed gender sport.

But this will alternate between global and continental events.

No host has yet been announced for the first such tournament.

A new list of competitions for the next four years has been unveiled ©IWGA
A new list of competitions for the next four years has been unveiled ©IWGA

The under-19 Korfball World Cup will also be re-branded as the official Under 19 World Korfball Championship, held on a bi-annual basis.

This means that starting from 2018, there will be an annual Under 21 Korfball Championship, either a continental or world championship.

Asia and Europe will hold continental Under 19 Championships in the intervening years.

The European one will be "open", though, meaning that Asian teams and those from Africa, the Americas and Oceania will also be eligible.

No changes are being made to the existing programme at senior level.