BIRMINGHAM: England is set to make history by hosting the 2025 Men’s and Women’s Kabaddi World Cup, marking the first time the prestigious tournament will be held outside of Asia. The week-long event will take place in the West Midlands region, running from March 17 to March 23 this year.
Sixteen teams, including the host nation England, Pakistan, and India, will compete across men’s and women’s competitions. Matches will be held at four venues: Birmingham, Walsall, Coventry, and Wolverhampton, with over 60 matches expected to be played.
In the men’s competition, the teams have been divided into four groups. Pakistan is placed in “Group D” alongside Taiwan, Italy, and Kenya, while host England is in “Group A” with Malaysia, Poland, and Cameroon. “Group B” consists of Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Scotland, and Egypt, and former world champion India is in “Group C” with China, the USA, and Tanzania.
For the women’s competition, “Group A” includes England, Hong Kong, Poland, and Tanzania, while India, Egypt, Scotland, and Kenya make up “Group B.”
The tournament will kick off on March 17, with the opening match featuring host England against Cameroon. Before the games begin, there will be a brief opening ceremony to mark the start of the event.
Pakistan’s first match will take place on March 18 against Kenya. The teams will then head to Coventry for the second round of group-stage matches, with Pakistan facing Italy at Coventry Arena. The group-stage matches for the men’s competition will continue at Birmingham’s Nechells Wellbeing Centre.
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On March 21, the women’s group stage matches will be played at the University of Wolverhampton, Walsall campus, followed by the men’s quarterfinals. The tournament will then move to Wolverhampton, where both the men’s and women’s semi-finals are scheduled for March 22. The finals, as well as the third-place matches for both men’s and women’s teams, will be held on March 23 in Wolverhampton.
The event has been supported by a £500,000 funding boost from the UK Government’s Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund, following a joint bid by the City of Wolverhampton Council and World Kabaddi. The funding aims to further enhance the legacy of the Commonwealth Games and promote sport and culture in the region, solidifying West Midlands’ reputation as a world-class host for major international events.
The 2025 Kabaddi World Cup promises to be a significant milestone in the sport’s global development and a major event for the West Midlands region.
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