Press Release 29th March 2022

British Kabaddi League

Media Brief

29th March 2022

The new British Kabaddi League will launch in Wolverhampton on the 29th March involving teams from Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and Walsall
BKL will underpin efforts to bring the Kabaddi World Cup to the West Midlands in 2024 as part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games legacy plan to attract new Major Sporting Events
Organisers say their approach reinvents the sports development model for Black and Minority Ethnic Sport - putting the first professional teams in the UK in ownership of community organisations and who aim to grow participation
The BKL league and finals will be carried by the BBC with echoes of Kabaddi being popular on TV in the 1990s

British Kabaddi League (BKL)

Kabaddi is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world and is the most popular sport after

cricket in South Asia. The Pro Kabaddi League is second only in television ratings to Indian

Premier League Cricket.

The newly formed British Kabaddi League will launch in the UK in April 2022 and involve 8

Teams from across the UK competing in 4 British League competition weekends at central

venues in Wolverhampton, Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow.

Wolverhampton 9th / 10th April WV Active Aldersley, Wolverhampton

Manchester 16th / 17th April Oldham Leisure Centre, Oldham

Birmingham 23rd / 24th April Nechells Wellbeing Centre, Birmingham

Glasgow 30th April/1st May Bellahouston Sports Centre, Glasgow

BBC Coverage

The promotion of Kabaddi to the masses is linked to the BBC. They have committed resources and assisted BKL to promote and support an ethnic sport that will be shown live on national television. This is the first time this has happened and the BKL is committed to

creating a national television audience for the sport including

Live broadcast on BBC with highlights on BBC iPlayer
Highlights & edits on BBC3
National broadcast campaign across the BBC Asian Network
Promotion on BBC.com and BBC World Service
Bespoke programming in regions with BKL franchises
BKL Finals in Glasgow on BBC

BKL will also be building partnerships with ethnic media outlets and use national BAME network networks to reach communities through promotional videos and marketing materials to you as part of our social media plan.

Inspired by our Commonwealth Games communities

West Midlands is one of the most culturally diverse places in the UK with over 90 different languages spoken. At the heart of our Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Major Sporting Event Plan is our commitment to take a diverse, inclusive, and innovative approach to attracting and hosting Major Sporting Events that are truly representative of the West Midlands and its communities.

West Midlands Growth Company has been working closely with English and Scottish Kabaddi to help establish the inaugural British Kabaddi League and newly formed teams from the Midlands will make up half of the first-ever semi-professional British Kabaddi

League.

Birmingham Bulls Manchester Raiders

Wolverhampton Wolfpack Glasgow Unicorns

Walsall Hunters London Lions

Leicester Foxes Edinburgh Eagles

Kabaddi already has a noticeable presence in the UK and is popular, especially amongst South Asian Communities and the newly formed British Kabaddi League offers a truly unique opportunity to drive positive engagement on a local and national scale and support the heart of the South Asian community environments, including BAME businesses, community

organisations and the communities that they serve.

The sport of Kabaddi is at the heart of the community and the community is at the heart of the BKL. The two are intrinsically linked.

Kabaddi already has a noticeable presence in the UK and is popular, especially amongst South Asian Communities. Kabaddi is often utilised by sports coaches in other sports as a tool for coordination and teamwork training. 10 universities in England & Scotland already have Kabaddi teams.

The new British Kabaddi League

The British Kabaddi League has been established to promote and grow the sport of Kabaddi in the UK and reinvent the diversity sports development model by putting the responsibility for growth in the professional sport in the hands of communities of BAME origin. Built by the community, for the community, British Kabaddi aims to:

Grow the sport of Kabaddi to bring together diverse communities and organisations in cities across the UK.
Engage and empower the 5 million people of British Asian heritage in the UK and promote physical activity and well-being.
Create and implement opportunities for BAME communities to represent their cities and the people they live with.
Tackle community health challenges in the communities and promote physical activity and wellbeing for hard-to-reach communities.
Strengthen international cultural ties across the Commonwealth.

Growth of Kabaddi Worldwide

World Kabaddi was formed in 2018 and has since grown to 50 members across five continents. While the sport is dominated by Asian countries, Kabaddi is experiencing growth through international competitions and World Kabaddi and its partners have organised the following competitions. World Kabaddi's fundamental purpose is to grow the sport across the

world.

Kabaddi World Cup Malaysia 2019

European Kabaddi Championship Glasgow Scotland 2019

European Kabaddi Championship Cyprus 2021

Birmingham City Council Leader, Ian Ward says

"Last year Birmingham City Council launched its major event strategy which committed to attracting and hosting events that have purpose and impact for the

communities we represent. Our Commonwealth Games Legacy plan aims to our citizens and communities at the heart of our plans and uses the Commonwealth

Games as a catalyst to attract future major events in the city. I am delighted that we have been able to support the establishment of our new British Kabaddi League Team, The Birmingham Bulls but also to host one of the inaugural league matches at Nechells Leisure Centre in the heart of our city in April. I think this could be a real landmark for the sport and help engage a whole new audience for the sport in here

Birmingham."

Wolverhampton CC Leader, says

"To host the launch of the inaugural event in the British Kabaddi League is a real honour for Wolverhampton and symbolises our commitment to support the growth of the sport and physical activity amongst our Black and Minority Ethnic communities. Wolverhampton wrestling club has been an important organiser of community engagement and activity."

WMGC Chief Executive, Neil Rami says

“This marks the second major event and sporting announcement we have proactively supported within the Business and Tourism Programme since announcing the commonwealth e-sports championships a few weeks ago. I think this is tangible proof of our commitment to target a young, diverse audience and attract events that are inclusive and with an innovative approach. Helping to support the establishment of the British Kabaddi League will leave a sustainable and lasting impact on the sport and which I am proud we are a part of. It is a sport that has its origins in the country of our commonwealth partners and has tremendous growth potential here in the UK. I look forward to working with our commercial partners within the West Midlands India Partnership to see where we can take this as a sport with the target of attracting the World Cup here to the West Midlands in 2024."

Ashok Das, President of the British Kabaddi league; England Kabaddi

Prem Singh, CEO of British Kabaddi League

Barry Aujla, Chair Scottish Kabaddi Association

Press Release 29th March 2022

Press Release 29th March 2022

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