In a statement following their latest Central Board meeting in Amsterdam in The Netherlands, the IFF also confirmed they had handed in their application to be part of the event in the American city of Birmingham.

The developments were among several items to arise from the meeting as Croatia became a provisional member of the governing body.

Officials from the country informed the IFF they were willing to organise events in the nation during the rest of 2018 following the confirmation.

The IFF now has a total of 68 members including those who still have provisional status.

A membership form has been established for those seeking to join the organisation, which they are hoping will "make it easier and clearer for the candidate countries to understand what documents and actions are required in order to fulfil the membership criteria set by the IFF".

An ethics document has also been created by the IFF administration, available on the governing body's website, allowing anyone within the sport to make a complaint on issues such as anti-doping, match-fixing and harassment.

"The form is created to serve as a funnel for data collection and making it easier to define which body is to deal with the matter," the IFF said in a statement.