A new British Kabaddi League has been launched in Wolverhampton

One of the fastest growing sports in the world, the new competition has been set up by English and Scottish Kabaddi with eight founding members.

They are: Wolverhampton Wolfpack, Birmingham Bulls, Walsall Hunters, Leicester Warriors, London Lions, Edinburgh Eagles, Glasgow Unicorns and Manchester Raiders.

Tournaments will be staged in major cities including Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow between April 9 and May 10.

The new league was launched at Wolverhampton Art Gallery on Tuesday to mark the prominent role of the Midlands in British Kabaddi.

The competition has been established with support from the West Midlands Growth Company – the region’s economic development agency.

Prem Singh, CEO of British Kabaddi, said:

“We are delighted that so many people from different and diverse backgrounds have come together to present this amazing sports project.

"The British Kabaddi League was created by the communities and will be used to promote positive community engagement and celebrate cultural diversity.”

Ashok Das, President of the British Kabaddi League and World Kabaddi, added: “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 British Kabaddi League (BKL) sets a benchmark for new Kabaddi leagues 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."

The BBC will televise the tournament on BBC iPlayer, BBC Three and BBC Asian Network.

The first broadcast of the British Kabaddi League will be on iPlayer on April 9.