Coventry Building Society Arena to host Kabaddi world cup 2025
Coventry will play host amongst other West Midlands cities to the Kabaddi World Cup 2025.
The 100-day countdown has begun as the competition takes place from 17 - 23 March 2025 with 16 participating nations ready to complete.
World Kabaddi also announced bookmaker Paddy Power as the competition’s Title Sponsor at the launch event which welcomed more than 100 West Midlands partners and stakeholders to enjoy an exhibition kabaddi match yesterday.
The West Midlands will be hosting the sport’s leading global tournament, welcoming the world’s best kabaddi players from men’s and women’s teams from across the five member continents of World Kabaddi, including Africa, Asia, Oceania, Pan America and Europe. Teams from India, China, USA and Pakistan as well as home nation teams from England and Scotland will compete for the World Cup, the first time the competition has been hosted outside of Asia.
Cllr Kamran Caan, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport, said: "I’m thrilled that Coventry will play host city for the Kabaddi World Cup in 2025. It’s yet another international sporting event to add to our ever-growing list.
“Bringing kabaddi to Coventry means we can take the sport to communities, increase physical activity even more and highlight the sport’s culture which is really special.
“Earlier this year the city had the pleasure of hosting the British Kabaddi League which led to the formation of Coventry’s first ever kabaddi team, Coventry Chargers. We’ve already taken the sport to local schools and hosted a mini tournament which were a great success. I really look forward to seeing what else we can do in the city in the run up to hosting the World Cup.”
Coventry Building Society Arena will be the host venue in Coventry for the Kabaddi World Cup 2025.
Paul Michael, Managing Director of Coventry Building Society Arena, said: “We have a proud legacy of hosting major national and international sporting events at Coventry Building Society Arena and it’s incredibly exciting to be adding the Kabaddi World Cup to that list.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming kabaddi players from around the globe to the venue and showcasing why Coventry is the perfect destination for major sport events.”
Kabaddi is an ancient sport which can be traced to pre-historic times when man learned how to defend in groups against animals or attack weaker animals individually or in groups for survival and food. Kabaddi was played as a demonstration sport at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and is now the fastest-growing sport in South Asia; it is played in World Kabaddi’s 50 member countries. The contact sport sees teams broken down into raiders and blockers, with the aim of scoring points by entering opposition territory, tagging an opponent and making it back into their own half without being tackled to the ground. The Pro Kabaddi League in India is the second most watched sports league in that country, second only to cricket’s Indian Premier League.
Ashok Das, President of World Kabaddi, added: “We have been working closely with the West Midlands Combined Authority and partners over the last two years to plan the Kabaddi World Cup 2025 and are excited to be now drawing the teams for the competition. The West Midlands was a straightforward choice for us – not just for its great sporting pedigree, but it is a region that celebrates its cultural diversity, engages all its communities and is centrally located in the UK to allow ease of access to the competition from across the country.
“Kabaddi has a rich heritage and above all has the power to bring nations, communities and people together to enjoy the game, socialise and unite as a team. Teamwork is the key to success and this World Cup has come about as a result of tremendous teamwork between World Kabaddi, British Kabaddi League, our member nations and associations and our hosts, the West Midlands and particularly the great city of Wolverhampton.”
"Kabaddi is chaotic, combative, and absolutely bonkers – in other words, it’s everything that, as a brand, Paddy Power loves about sport" said spokesperson for Irish bookie, Paddy Power himself.
"We’re thrilled to be the Title Sponsor of the Kabaddi World Cup 2025 and to bring this incredible game to a brand new audience. Expect banter, big hits, and breathtaking entertainment – this is sport, Paddy Power style."
The Kabaddi World Cup 2025 has received £500,000 of funding from the UK Government's Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund. This application was successfully approved by the West Midlands Combined Authority, marking the one-year anniversary of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The funding ensures the Games' positive and enduring legacy will continue to benefit the entire region, increasing access to sport and culture, boosting the West Midlands’s reputation as a world-class host for major events and drive inward investment and tourism.
The 16 nations taking part in the Kabaddi World Cup 2025 are:
Asia: India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, China
Europe: England, Scotland, Italy, Poland
Africa: Tanzania, Kenya, Cameroon, Egypt
Pan America: USA
Tickets for the Kabaddi World Cup 2025 will go on sale shortly and the public are invited to register their interest and find out more at www.kabaddiworldcup2025.com