A campaign called #Karate2024 has been launched to try to convince Paris 2024 to change their mind and add the sport to the Olympic programme in the French capital ©FFK

Karate will tomorrow step up its campaign to reverse a decision not to include it on the programme of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris by meeting French officials.

World Karate Federation (WKF) President Antonio Espinós is due to hold talks with Paris 2024 following their announcement last month that the sport had not been chosen as one of their optional sports.

Espinós will be accompanied by Francis Didier, President of the French Karate Federation (FFK), and Toshi Nagura, secretary general of the WKF. 

"This meeting will aim to Convince the OCOG (Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) to the full additional sports program for the 2024 Olympic games with karate," the FFK said on its Facebook page.

Karate is due to make its Olympic debut in Tokyo next year but was not chosen by Paris 2024.

They chose instead sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing - all part of the Tokyo 2020 programme - along with, controversially, breakdancing.

The decision still needs to be ratified by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is due to discuss the proposal before it goes in front of its Executive Board between March 26 and 28.

Provisional approval could then be granted at the IOC Session in Lausanne in June, before Executive Board confirmation in December 2020.

The WKF are refusing to give up, though, and have launched a high-profile digital campaign to try to convince Paris 2024 to add them to the programme.

The  #Karate2024 campaign aims to "showcase the unity of the sport and requests the inclusion of the discipline in the list of additional sports to be added to the programme of the Olympic Games Paris 2024".

Fans have been encouraged to get involved by using the hashtag and spreading the message "KARATE: Olympic sport".

The decision was considered a surprise as it was believed that karate would have offered France the opportunity to win more medals at Paris 2024.

The only country more successful at the World Championships than France is Japan.

In the 24 editions of the event, France have won a total of 167 medals, including 55 gold.

At last year's World Championships in Madrid, France finished third on the overall medal table with two gold, coming behind only Japan and Iran.