The Ordinary Congress - where long-standing incumbent Hassan Moustafa is expected to be re-elected unopposed as IHF President - was scheduled to be held across four days from November 5 to 8 in Turkish city Antalya.

But it will now be held via video conference in a single day on November 6 after the IHF concluded that travel and entry restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic mean it cannot take place in person.

The IHF has also confirmed that it plans to stage meetings with all six Continental Confederations on November 5.

"The IHF has been continuously monitoring the development of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the related travel and entry restrictions affecting the organisation of a physical Congress meeting," a statement from the IHF read.

"Based on the aforementioned, it has been decided that the upcoming XXXVIII Ordinary IHF Congress is taking place virtually [by video conference] on Saturday, November 6."

Coronavirus cases are on the rise in Turkey, with more than 30,000 new infections and a further 223 deaths reported yesterday.

Around 55 million people - which equates to 65.1 per cent of the Turkish population - has received a COVID-19 vaccine with 56.3 per cent fully vaccinated.

Moustafa is the only candidate standing for the role of IHF President as he seeks a sixth term in office.

It will be the third consecutive vote where the Egyptian official, who was first elected as IHF President in 2000, has stood unopposed.

Moustafa, a former vice-president of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, will be 81 by the time his newest mandate expires in 2025.

He joined the IHF Council in 1992 before becoming President at the 2000 Congress in Estoril, where he was elected unopposed after Austrian rival and incumbent Erwin Lanc withdrew before the vote.

Moustafa saw off Staffan Holmqvist of Sweden in 2004 and Jean Kaiser of Luxembourg in 2009, before being re-elected without a challenger in 2013 and 2017.

The Egyptian's tenure has not been without criticism, with the latest controversy centring on women's uniforms in beach handball after Norway were fined by the European Handball Federation for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms.

Next month's virtual Ordinary Congress will see Germany's Andreas Michelmann challenge France's Joël Delplanque for the first vice-president position.