Kabaddi World Cup 2025 explained: What is Kabaddi, how is it played and why is the tournament being held the West Midlands?

The West Midlands is hosting the Kabaddi World Cup 2025 in Wolverhampton, Walsall and Birmingham - and it's the first time the international tournamet has been held outside Asia

The Kabaddi World Cup is coming to the West Midlands - including Wolverhampton and Walsall - on Monday with the opening ceremony taking place at Aldersley Sports stadium which will also host the finals day on Sunday March 23.

It is the first time a major tournament in the sport will have been hosted outside of its traditional South Asia home, with the inaugural World Cup in Malaysia in 2019 seeing India win both the men's and women's finals.

Wolverhampton University's Walsall Campus which will host group and quarter final Kabaddi games next week

What is Kabaddi and how is it played?

Kabaddi is an ancient Indian sport dating back more than 4,000 years and involves players earning points by crossing into their opponent’s territory and returning safely.

Kabaddi is a sport played between two teams of seven players know as 'raiders' and 'defenders.'

In this game, a raider enters the opposing half to tag defenders and return within 30 seconds while avoiding tackles. Points are awarded for successful tags, while defenders earn points for stopping the raider.

Tagged or tackled players are temporarily out but can re-enter when their team scores. Raids alternate between teams throughout the game.

The sport is popular traditionally in India, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other surrounding Asian countries.

Although accounts of Kabaddi appear in the history of India, the game was popularised as a competitive sport in the 20th century.

It is the national sport of Bangladesh and is the second most popular and viewed sport in India after cricket.

There are two major disciplines: "Punjabi Kabaddi," also called "circle style", comprises traditional forms of the sport that are played on a circular field outdoors, and the "standard style", on a rectangular court indoors, is played in major professional leagues and international competitions such as the Asian Games.

Wolverhampton's WV Active Aldersley Stadium which will host the opening and closing ceremonies and the finals of the men's and women's Kabaddi World Cup.

What can we expect at the Kabaddi World Championships in the West Midlands and why are the championships being held here?

The men's' competition will feature four groups of 16 teams in total including England, China, India, Pakistan, Italy and the USA and the women's two groups of eight teams: England; Hong Kong China; Poland; Tanzania; Cameroon; Egypt; India and Kenya.

The seven day event will be held in venues across the West Midlands when it gets underway on March 17 and is expected to attract a global audience of around 500 million.

It is being hosted by the England Kabaddi Association and delivered by the British Kabaddi League (BKL) and supported by World Kabaddi and will see almost 50 matches in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry and Walsall.

An opening ceremony will feature live music from students at Wolverhampton Music Service, a grand athlete entrance and energetic dance performances from locally-based Bollywood Dreams Dance Company.

Kabaddi is played by men and women and teams try to tag and avoid each other

Key dates:

Wolverhampton Group Stages - 17/3/25 to 18/3/25

Coventry Group Stages - 19/3/25

Birmingham Group Stages - 20/3/25

Walsall Group Stages & Quarter Final - 21/3/25

Wolverhampton Semi-Final - 22/3/25

Wolverhampton Third Placing & Final - 23/3/25

The World Cup is sponsored by Paddy Power and has additional funding of £500,000 from the UK Government’s Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund and an official Higher Education sponsorship from the University of Wolverhampton.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “This is a huge moment for the West Midlands. With millions watching, we’ll show the world why our region is a top destination for global events and a great place to do business.

“This tournament will bring thousands of overseas fans, boosting our economy and celebrating the vibrant South Asian communities that are such a vital part of our region."

Prem Singh, Chief Executive of the BKL, said: “We are getting closer to fulfilling a decades-long dream of thousands of kabaddi players by bringing the Paddy Power Kabaddi World Cup to the West Midlands region.

“We are confident the World Cup will create even more opportunities for communities to engage with a sport deeply rooted in its cultural heritage, not least through our partnership with our official charity partner, Sporting Equals.”

You can catch the opening ceremony and group games at WV Active Aldersley Stadium on Monday March 17, Tuesday March 18 and then Saturday March 22 and Sunday March 23, when the finals will be held there.

At Walsall Campus there is a chance to check out group games and quarter finals on day five of the competition, Friday March 21.

The action will start on all days from 9am and tickets are available at https://kabaddiworldcup2025.com/