Birmingham, March 29 (Agency) A new British Kabaddi League has been launched in the UK, with tournaments staged in major cities including Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Wolverhampton between April 9 and May 10. Bringing together professionals from one of the fastest growing sports in the world, the league was launched in the city of Wolverhampton to mark the prominent role of the Midlands in British Kabaddi, with the eight competing teams including Birmingham Bulls, Wolverhampton Wolfpack, Walsall Hunters and Leicester Warriors, London Lions, Edinburgh Eagles, Glasgow Unicorns and Manchester Raiders.
“We’re delighted to be joining other major nations in establishing our first, competitive Kabaddi league. This will build on the popularity of one of the world’s fastest growing sports, which is already thriving in communities right across the UK. We hope this new league, backed by the Birmingham 2022 Business and Tourism Programme and launching in the host region for this summer’s Commonwealth Games, goes from strength to strength,” said Nigel Huddleston, UK Minister for Sport and Tourism. The league has been established by English and Scottish Kabaddi, with support from the West Midlands Growth Company – the region’s economic development agency.
Kabaddi, a contact team sport originating from India, is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and the second most popular sport in South Asia, following cricket. In the past decade, a range of national and international Kabaddi leagues have established rising in popularity, such as the Pro Kabaddi League in India and the Kabaddi World Cup, which features top teams from India, the US, Canada, the UK and Australia compete to be crowned world champions. “I have been involved with the sport of Kabaddi for over 40 years and our Kabaddi family of Kabaddi playing nations is now 50 strong. We have organised events all over the globe, but the BKL sets a benchmark for new Kabaddi league outside of India. The BKL will further empower us to reach out and bring people together serving a common goal of promoting health and wellbeing,” said Ashok Das, President of BKL and the World Kabaddi.
“We are delighted that so many people from different and diverse backgrounds have come together to present this amazing sports project. The BKL was created by the communities and will be used to promote positive community engagement and celebrate cultural diversity,” said Prem Singh, CEO of British Kabaddi. Building on the popularity of the sport across the world, the league aims to engage and empower the five million people of British Asian heritage in the UK, as well as promoting physical activity and wellbeing amongst ethnically diverse communities.