It comes after the International World Games Association (IWGA) changed its rules to allow more flexibility in picking the sports and disciplines which will appear in the Chinese city.

Existing sports have the ability to propose new disciplines and an additional quota has also been reserved for Chengdu itself, which will likely lead to sports favoured in China getting the nod.

Other stakeholders such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee will also be able to make suggestions.

"The selection of these additional sports and disciplines will follow close consultation with our partners and will be subject to a strict set of criteria to ensure compliance with the rules of the World Games," said Felli.

"We want the application process to be a discussion and co-construction with the member federations, to select the disciplines that will bring the most added value to them and to the IWGA, based on the availability of venues in Chengdu. 

"For this next edition we will pay special attention to the level of development of the sport/discipline in the host country, and how the member federations intend to take advantage of the World Games to further establish their presence in China."

Chengdu is due to hold the World Games - which features sports not on the Olympic programme - between August 7 and 17 in 2025.

It will follow on from this year's edition in Birmingham in Alabama, which took place in July and was pushed back by a year to avoid a clash with the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The sports programme for Chengdu 2025 is due to be confirmed at the IWGA's General Assembly next year.

This will take place in either May or June. 

The new system of deciding sports is similar to what the IOC uses for the Olympic Games.

Chengdu is also due to host the Summer World University Games in 2023.

The IWGA has signed up to Chinese social media giant Weibo to try and boost its product in the country.