This information was included in correspondence circulated this week to all SportAccord member federations and obtained by insidethegames.

"The IOC is currently reviewing the status of a large number of SportAccord members who have applied for IOC Recognition," the document explained.

"A decision by the IOC is expected in December."

It is likely this will take place during the Executive Board meeting scheduled for December 6 to 8 in Lausanne.

Virtually all members of the Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport (AIMS) have been encouraged to apply by the IOC as part of a more flexible process brought in as part of their Agenda 2020 reforms.

The move from a sports-based to an event-based Olympic Games, one of the Agenda 2020 recommendations, effectively opened the door for more organisations to submit applications to gain recognition - which could then lead to a bid for a place on the Olympic programme further down the line.

The IOC voted to add five new sports for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics - baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing - at its Session in Rio de Janeiro.

Those to have publicly submitted applications in recent weeks include the International Sport Fishing Confederation and the International Pole Sports Confederation.

Serious contenders include sambo, which had hoped to be added this year, and muay thai, which IOC President Thomas Bach watched at last month's Asian Beach Games in Danang.

The Association of IOC Recognised Sports (ARISF) currently has 35 members.

The International Ski Mountaineering Federation was fully recognised during this year's IOC Session in Rio de Janeiro, while the World Flying Disc Federation was added last year in Kuala Lumpur.

This comes as a separate process is underway to assess six federations who have applied for membership of SportAccord.

The six were not named, but are expected to include bodies representing arm wrestling, poker and rugby league.

They were all expected to be added this year before the process was postponed in April.

World Karate Federation (WKF) President Antonio Espinos "has been very helpful in the above mentioned review of the membership criteria", the SportAccord correspondence added.

"The next Council is likely to appoint a Working Group on Membership to assess the eligibility of every applicant, to review the current statutory criteria and to prepare a proposal leading to a streamlined process towards IOC recognition."