Regional and qualification stages are set to be created which will lead to the World Table Tennis Championships finals.

A Future Events Working Group met to discuss how to ensure that all countries around the globe can participate in these stages.

"When making fundamental change for a better future we expect that a new direction will face thorough scrutiny," Tony Kiesenhofer, chair of the Working Group.

"In the end, I was pleased that while looking at their continental realities and interests, the members of the group engaged with a bigger picture discussion: a World Championships that aims to take place around the world, with media and spectator engagement and over a longer period of time.

"This new model puts a clear emphasis on engaging and helping with the development of the associations that are currently not participating in the World Championships."

The 2019 World Table Tennis Championships will take place in Budapest, Hungary.

The Working Group will present their final plan for approval at that event, and the changes could be brought in by 2022.

"After two days of fruitful discussion I was mainly pleased that there was a large focus placed on the overall system needed for the future of the new and expanded World Table Tennis Championships," said ITTF chief executive Steve Dainton. 

"With the goal to increase visibility of our sport in all corners of the world and to have all our 226 members fully active in our events a new and excellent system is absolutely necessary. 

"It was also good to have the meeting at the European Championships as we could hear also at their Congress that there is still a lot of doubt about how to achieve these goals. 

"However, after the meetings I do believe we are on track and we will ensure events that allow more people around the world to experience our sport, see it in the media and to create record attendance at a World Table Tennis Championships."