England set to host Kabaddi World Cup 2025 for first time

BIRMINGHAM: England is set to host the 2025 men’s and women’s Kabaddi World Cup. The week-long tournament will take place in the West Midlands region in March this year. Sixteen teams including Pakistan, India and host England will lock horns in the tournament which is being held for the first time outside of Asia.

For the men’s competition, sixteen teams have been divided into four groups while the women’s competition will have two groups. Matches will be played at four venues in Birmingham, Walsall, Coventry and Wolverhampton from 17 to 23 March. Kabaddi-playing nations from Asia, Africa, America and Europe will participate in the men’s and women’s competitions, with a total of over 60 matches will be played in the tournament.

In the men’s competition, the Pakistan team is placed into “Group D” along with Taiwan, Italy and Kenya. Host England is in “Group A” with Malaysia, Poland and Cameroon. Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Scotland and Egypt are placed in “Group B” while former world champion India is “Group C” with China, USA and Tanzania.

For the women’s competition England, Hong Kong, Poland and Tanzania are in “Group A” while India, Egypt, Scotland and Kenya are in “Group B”.

The tournament will commence on March 17 with hosts England taking on Cameroon. Before that, a brief opening ceremony will also take place.

Pakistan will play the first match of the tournament against Kenya on March 18. On March 19, the teams will then travel to Coventry for the second round of group stage matches where Pakistan will be up against Italy at Coventry Arena. The following day Birmingham’s Nechells Wellbeing Centre will host the teams for the remaining group stage matches in men’s competition. On 21st March remaining matches of the Women’s groups stage will be played at the University of Wolverhampton, Walsall campus followed by men’s quarter finals. The tournament will then head back to Wolverhampton where Men’s and Women’s semi-finals are scheduled to take place on March 22. Matches for third place as well as the finals of both men's and women's teams will also be staged in Wolverhampton on March 23.

The Kabaddi World Cup 2025 has received £500,000 of funding from the UK Government’s Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund following a joint bid by City of Wolverhampton Council and World Kabaddi.

The funding will not only ensure that the Commonwealth Games’ positive and enduring legacy will continue to benefit the entire region but also help increase access to sport and culture, boosting the West Midlands region’s reputation as a world-class host for major events.