NEW DELHI, March 15, 2025 - The first-ever Kabaddi World Cup to be held outside Asia will start from 17th of March. The seven-day tournament will take place across the West Midlands region of England, showcasing the sport’s remarkable global growth - with up to 500 million set to tune in worldwide.
Ahead of the event, World Kabaddi President Ashok Das and England Kabaddi Association President Prem Singh addressed the media during an online roundtable.
Das shared that kabaddi sport, an ancient Indian sport dating back more than 4,000 years, has evolved into one of the most-watched sports in South Asia. With a mix of tactical brilliance, high-speed raids and crunching tackles, kabaddi involves players earning points by crossing into their opponent’s territory and returning safely. It was included as a demonstration sport at the Olympic Games in 1936, and has been a medal sport at the Asian Games since 1990. Das also expressed hope that kabaddi will soon become an Olympic sport.
The Kabaddi World Cup, which is supported by World Kabaddi, hosted by the England Kabaddi Association and delivered by the British Kabaddi League (BKL) is set to feature the world’s best players in nearly 50 matches held across Birmingham, Coventry, Walsall and Wolverhampton. The men’s and women’s competition will be streamed globally via channels including BBC iPlayer, the Olympic Channel, DD Sports and Willow TV.
Prem Singh said: “We are getting closer to fulfilling the decades-long dream of thousands of Kabaddi players by bringing the Kabaddi World Cup to the West Midlands region. The British Kabaddi League has been a huge success since its launch in 2022 and underlined the growing interest in both playing and watching the sport. We are confident that the World Cup will build on this and create even more opportunities for communities to engage with a sport deeply rooted in its cultural heritage.” He also said that in the next years the sport will gain popularity in Arab countries and competitions will be organised there.
Joel Lavery, Strategic Lead for Major Sporting Events at the West Midlands Growth Company, said: “The Kabaddi World Cup presents a unique opportunity for the West Midlands region to share the incredible story of kabaddi’s past and its ambitious plans for the future. He also said that kabaddi is a sport which unites communities and has diversity and inclusion at its heart, so it is incredibly exciting to have the sport’s premier event coming to the region in few days. He said they have already witnessed strong community engagement in the lead-up to the Kabaddi World Cup, and this event will further cement the West Midlands region’s growing reputation for hosting world-class sport events.
