The IKF announced the decision to largely cancel or postpone its 2020 international competitions following a meeting of the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee was also joined by IKF vice-presidents from Asia and Oceania.

An IKF statement said the coronavirus pandemic effectively prevented many international competitions from being held.

The governing body said the pandemic had created financial and organisational uncertainty to both hosts and teams.

"The IKF is very sad having to take this decision, which was inevitable," said Jan Fransoo.

"Foremost, the health and well-being of all athletes, officials and fans is our first priority.

"In addition, hosts are currently facing high financial risks and we need to enable them to develop contingency plans early on.

"We are in close contact with our major event organizers and will be in touch with all event hosts over the next few weeks to further discuss the consequences for the 2020 and later events."

Postponements included the Under-21 World Korfball Championships, which had been due to take place in Chinese Taipei July 11 to 18.

Continental competitions have been impacted, with both Asian and European Championships being postponed.

The Asian Korfball Championships were scheduled to take place in South Korea’s capital city Seoul.

The European Korfball Championship A event at Antwerp in Belgium and the B competition at Wrocław in Poland have also been postponed.

Each of the events will move to 2021, the IKF said.

A decision was taken in collaboration with the Royal Dutch Korfball Association to cancel the Under-17 Korfball World Cup in Eindhoven and the Under-15 European Korfball Championship in Drachten.

The IKF said decisions related to the Beach Korfball World Cup in The Hague and the Asian U16/U19 Korfball Championship at Udon Thani in Thailand will be made at a later date.

The qualifying round for next year’s Europa Cup has also been cancelled, with the IKF saying it will review the situation for next year’s Europa Cup and Europa Shield in light of the developments of the various national leagues in Europe.

The governing body had admitted the decision to postpone the World Games in Birmingham to 2022 will have major consequences for the IKF calendar for 2021, 2022 and potentially 2023.

A decision to move the World Games was taken earlier this week, as the organisation sought to avoid a clash with Tokyo 2020 after new dates for the rescheduled Olympic Games were confirmed.

The IKF says its Executive Committee has reviewed all options and will consult with host cities and other stakeholders over the next few weeks.

A revised competition calendar for upcoming years will be announced before the end of April, the IKF said.

Over 1.2 million coronavirus cases have been reported worldwide since the outbreak began, with more than 65,000 deaths recorded.

The pandemic has led the numerous sporting events either being cancelled or postponed.