IKF Council extends World Championship participation to 20 countries, sets rules for Korfball4 and Beach korfball

The Council of the International Korfball Federation met today in Dordrecht (Netherlands). One of the main topics on the table were a number of key decisions regarding the 2019 IKF World Korfball Championship due to be held in Durban (South Africa). Due to the growth of Korfball playing countries in Africa and the Americas and to avoid having to reduce the number of countries qualifying from Asia and Europe, the IKF Council has decided to increase the number of participating countries from 16 to 20. A new competition format has also been proposed within which the total duration of the event will not exceed 10 days, which has also been the duration of the previous two World Championships with 16 teams. Elimination matches will start immediately following the pool matches.

Qualification quota for each of the continental federations have also been decided, with normally 2 places for the Americas, 2 for Africa, 6 jointly for Asia and Oceania (with a minimum of 1 for Oceania) , and 10 for Europe. Detailed quota have been determined for different scenarios, depending on the number of countries entering the Pan-American Championship (2018), the All-African Championship (2018), the European Championship (Netherlands, 2018) and the Asia-Oceania Championship (Chiba, Japan, 2018).

Further, the Council set the rules for korfball4, a new and dynamic format where teams of 4 rather than 8 players compete. Both a one-korf format and a two-korf format for korfball4 have been regulated, enabling member countries to set up leagues and tournaments in either of the two formats. Also the beach korfball rules have been updated in preparation for the likely start of official championships in several continents.