On World Kabaddi Day 2025, the global Kabaddi community is celebrating the huge success of the Paddy Power Kabaddi World Cup – the first edition held outside Asia.
World Kabaddi celebrates World Kabaddi Day annually, marking the anniversary of its founding date in 2018. Since then, the organisation has grown to include five continental governing bodies and more than 55 National Federations, a number which continues to rise as the sport’s global popularity skyrockets.
This year’s celebrations off the back of an outstanding Paddy Power Kabaddi World Cup provide an important opportunity to reflect on Kabaddi’s growth. The seven-day tournament was held across the West Midlands region of England, serving as a significant milestone in World Kabaddi’s ambitions for greater recognition among the international sports community and to feature at multi-sport events including the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games.
India emerged victorious in a captivating women’s final against host nation England. India also clinched the men’s title with an impressive win against England to finish the competition in Wolverhampton – one of four host venues used across a week which shared kabaddi’s remarkable story to the world.
Outgoing World Kabaddi President Ashok Das commented: “The Paddy Power Kabaddi World Cup 2025 has been an historic week for Kabaddi. The performances of all the teams, the passion of the fans in the great West Midlands venues and the millions who have followed the tournament around the world have proven that our sport is truly global.
“This tournament is a milestone — a sign of Kabaddi’s bright future. The passion we’ve seen is a testament to how far the sport has come, and a glimpse of what lies ahead. We look forward to building on this momentum and bringing Kabaddi to even greater heights on the world stage.”
The Paddy Power Kabaddi World Cup was hosted by the England Kabaddi Association and delivered by the British Kabaddi League (BKL), which launched in 2022 and has underlined the sport’s expansion around the world.
BKL Chief Executive Prem Singh said:
“Kabaddi has been on an incredible journey with the fantastic support of our partner, Paddy Power, who has helped us elevate this sport to an entirely different level here in the UK and internationally. We are honoured to have played a role in this historic moment –
hosting the first Kabaddi World Cup outside of Asia. The positive impact of this tournament has been evident through the incredible support from our community, fans filling the venues, engaging across social media and tuning in via broadcasters around the world. We hope this event has contributed to the sport’s long-term legacy and helped showcase Kabaddi’s power to bring unite and inspire people.”
On Sunday, the final day of the Kabaddi World Cup, a historic ceremonial handover marked the transition of leadership at World Kabaddi, as outgoing President Mr Ashok Das officially passed the presidency to Dr Osama Said of Egypt. Dr Said, who was elected in December 2024, will serve a four-year term at the helm of the governing body.
Dr Said brings a wealth of experience to the role, currently serving as President of both the Egyptian Kabaddi Association and Kabaddi Africa. His appointment signals a new era for the sport, with a focus on further expanding kabaddi’s reach.
Dr Said added:
“I want to take a moment to recognise the incredible work of Mr Ashok Das, whose dedication and leadership have been instrumental in elevating kabaddi to a global stage. The UK’s West Midlands has hosted an incredible world cup showing for the first time that kabaddi has true global appeal. I would like to thank everyone at England Kabaddi Association and British Kabaddi League who have helped to elevate the World Cup to a new level. This has laid a fantastic foundation for us to build upon, inspiring growth at both the grassroots and elite levels. I am honoured to step into the Presidency role, and I am excited to lead the next chapter in kabaddi’s journey, expanding its reach across the world.”
Joel Lavery, Strategic Lead Major Sporting Events, West Midlands Growth Company, concluded:
“We shouldn’t underestimate the impact of hosting the Paddy Power Kabaddi World Cup in the West Midlands. We’ve seen the convening power of sport in action bringing civic leaders across the West Midlands, commercial partners and, most importantly the local and international community together to celebrate. The sport of kabaddi has officially landed in the West Midlands and in the UK and this is the watershed moment and a springboard for the future of the sport.”
Ends All results from the Paddy World Kabaddi World Cup can be found here. Further information on the Paddy Power Kabaddi World Cup can be found here.
Information for editors:
The Paddy Power 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. This application was successfully approved by the West Midlands Combined Authority, marking the one-year anniversary of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The tournament is jointly hosted by four local councils: Birmingham City Council, City of Wolverhampton Council, Coventry City Council and Walsall Council and will bring international teams and fans to the region, boosting the local economy and celebrating cultural diversity.
About World Kabaddi
World Kabaddi is the International Federation for the sport of Kabaddi, bringing together five continental organisations for Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and Pan America and including more than 50 member National Federations. It organises the Paddy Power Kabaddi World Cup, holding the inaugural edition in Malaysia in 2019 which had India as the first men’s and women’s champions. World Kabaddi has helped to expand one of the world’s most accessible sports, and is striving for International Olympic Committee recognition.
About the British Kabaddi League
The British Kabaddi League (BKL) is the UK’s premier professional league for Kabaddi, launched in 2022 by the English Kabaddi Association and Scottish Kabaddi Association. Originally starting from eight teams, it has since expanded and featured nine teams in the most recent edition in 2024, which was streamed live on BBC iPlayer. The BKL is a grassroots-up project, and local community clubs operate all franchises. Their finances are reinvested back into the local community.
About Paddy Power
Paddy Power was born in 1988 when three Irish bookmakers joined forces to shake up the betting world – and let’s be honest, to cause a bit of mayhem along the way. What started as a handful of betting shops has grown into one of the most recognisable entertainment brands on the planet, known for taking bets, taking risks, and never taking itself too seriously.
Since then, we’ve merged with Betfair (2016) and FanDuel (2018), expanded from 30 shops to over 500 across the UK & Ireland, and built a digital empire spanning sports betting, poker, live casino, bingo, and more.
Paddy Power is part of Flutter Entertainment plc, a global sports betting and gaming giant listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
But while we’ve gone big, we’ve never gone boring. Whether it’s giving punters unbeatable value, stirring the pot in the name of fun, or putting our name on sports that deserve the spotlight, we’ll always be Paddy – bold, cheeky, and impossible to ignore.
