Latest news with #WSKL
India Gazette
2 hours ago
- Business
- India Gazette
World Super Kabaddi League kicks off new chapter for Kabaddi
New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI): World Super Kabaddi League (WSKL) and the Uttar Pradesh Kabaddi League (UPKL) announced the launch of the inaugural edition of WSKL - a groundbreaking step towards making Kabaddi a truly global sport. With the active engagement of nearly 30 countries and formal confirmation from 20 national federations, the inaugural season is tentatively scheduled for February-March 2026 and will be hosted in Dubai, a strategic location chosen to maximise international exposure and fan accessibility. Following the success of UPKL, under the banner 'Apna Bharat, Apna Khel', which focused on nurturing talent within India, WSKL represents a bold new chapter. Unlike UPKL, which was largely India-centric, WSKL has been conceptualised as an international platform with a singular mission: to globalise Kabaddi and pave the way for its inclusion in the Olympic Games. WSKL is backed by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) and holds commercial rights through the South Asian Kabaddi Federation, positioning it as a credible and globally supported league. WSKL will adopt a franchise-based model featuring eight teams in its inaugural season. Setting itself apart from existing leagues, each team will showcase a strong international presence alongside Indian talent, reflecting the league's commitment to building a truly global Kabaddi ecosystem. WSKL is fully owned and operated by SJ Uplift Kabaddi Pvt Ltd and was founded by Sambhav Jain, a passionate advocate for the growth and modernisation of Kabaddi. Speaking about this ambitious new venture, Sambhav Jain, Director and Founder, SJ uplift Kabaddi Pvt Ltd, said as quoted by WSKL press release, 'Kabaddi has always deserved a larger stage, not just for India but for the global sporting community. With WSKL, our goal is to reimagine the sport for a global audience, unlock international talent, and take decisive steps towards Olympic recognition. The success of UPKL gave us the foundation, but WSKL is about creating a Kabaddi league that belongs to the world. We are building this with a vision for the next decade, not just the next season.' The league has committed a total player purse of 48 crore across its eight franchises, underscoring the strong investment appetite for this new sports property. WSKL has already secured interest and participation from prominent Kabaddi nations, including South Korea, Iran, Thailand, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan, Canada, and the United States, with discussions underway to onboard additional countries. The World Super Kabaddi League is designed not as a seasonal tournament but as an evolving global sports property. SJ Uplift Kabaddi Pvt Ltd is committed to building WSKL as a 12-month, year-round Kabaddi ecosystem, creating opportunities for sustained fan engagement, off-season activities, and long-term player development. With WSKL, SJ Uplift Kabaddi Pvt Ltd is setting a new benchmark for Kabaddi, creating an international movement that aspires to bring the sport to a much larger and more diverse audience. (ANI)
The Hindu
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Inaugural edition of World Super Kabaddi League to be held in Dubai
The organisers of the World Super Kabaddi League (WSKL) on Monday (June 30, 2025) announced that the inaugural edition of the tournament, featuring about 30 countries, will be held in Dubai, tentatively in February-March next year. Backed by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), WSKL will adopt a franchise-based model featuring eight teams in its inaugural season. Each team will have a strong international presence alongside Indian talent. "Kabaddi has always deserved a larger stage not just for India but for the global sporting community. With WSKL, our goal is to reimagine the sport for a global audience, unlock international talent, and take decisive steps towards Olympic recognition," said Sambhav Jain, Director and Founder, SJ uplift Kabaddi Pvt Ltd that operates the League. The league has committed a total player purse of Rs 48 crore across its eight franchises, underscoring the strong investment appetite for this new sports property. WSKL has already secured interest and participation from prominent kabaddi nations including South Korea, Iran, Thailand, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan, Canada, and the United States, with discussions underway to onboard additional countries, the release added.
Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
Kabaddi goes global: A new league draws up an international playbook with Olympic goals—but can it last?
Mumbai: Kabaddi's global leap is getting a new push, and this time it's not from a broadcaster or a federation but from an entrepreneur betting on scale, structure, and sports entertainment. Sambhav Jain, founder of SJ Uplift Kabaddi Pvt. Ltd, is preparing to launch the World Super Kabaddi League (WSKL) in February-March in Dubai. The franchise-based league is backed by the International Kabaddi Federation and more than 20 national federations, and has ambitions of pushing kabaddi towards Olympic recognition. 'Getting kabaddi into the Olympics requires at least 40 to 50 active participating nations. We are starting with 30 countries already engaged and building from there," Jain told Mint. The league has secured commercial rights from the South Asian Kabaddi Federation and plans to structure WSKL not as a seasonal tournament but as a year-round league with academies, international talent scouting, and regional fan engagement. This isn't the first time kabaddi has been dressed in modern formats and thrust on a bigger stage. But the question remains: Can a sport rooted in rural India sustain global attention beyond an opening-week buzz? WSKL believes its differentiator is its player composition and location strategy. Unlike the Pro Kabaddi League, where 90% of the roster is Indian, WSKL is flipping the ratio, with 60-70% foreign players and 30-40% Indian athletes in its first season. Over the next 2-3 years, Jain plans to lower Indian representation in WSKL to about 20% to make room for global talent. The league will operate with eight franchises and a total player purse of ₹48 crore, fully funded by the franchise owners. Negotiations are underway with owners from the US, Canada, and South Korea. 'We are targeting sports investors who understand risk, return and fan-building, not just short-term exposure," Jain said. Before going global, Jain tested the waters with the Uttar Pradesh Kabaddi League—a regional, franchise-based league launched by his company 1X Sportz in partnership with the UP Kabaddi Association. The inaugural season last year featured eight teams and combined grassroots scouting with a professional auction format. The Uttar Pradesh Kabaddi League drew encouraging early traction, including broadcast deals and brand partnerships, which Jain calls the 'proof of concept" for his bigger ambitions. 'UPKL gave us the operational playbook and showed there's appetite for kabaddi as structured IP (intellectual property)," he said. WSKL's real test WSKL franchisees will be offered a central revenue share via media rights, sponsorships, and merchandise, with a projected return on investments in 2-3 seasons. Dubai was chosen as the host city because of its strategic visibility and access to diaspora audiences, Jain said, adding that talks are ongoing with broadcasters in India and overseas. A non-exclusive, multi-region syndication strategy is on the cards, he said. Confirmed participating nations include Iran, South Korea, Bangladesh, Thailand, Japan, and the US. Jain is financing the venture himself and has no immediate plans to dilute equity or raise funds. 'We have seen what happens when leagues get bloated too early. We are staying lean, focused, and structured for sustainability," he said. Still, the sports entertainment market is littered with cautionary tales. From the Pro Volleyball League's legal tussles to the Indian Super League's uneven football franchise economics and table tennis struggling for consistent traction, non-cricket leagues in India have had mixed fates. Jain believes WSKL is learning from those failures. 'We are not copying the IPL (the popular Indian Premier League 20-over-a-side cricket format)," he said. 'We are adapting its best practices but keeping kabaddi's cultural and commercial reality in mind. You can't build a global league with just flash—you need foundation." Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company ACG Group, too, plans to avoid the IPL format for its recently announced professional basketball league. GMR Sports—which owns the UP Yoddhas team in the Pro Kabaddi League, the Telugu Yoddhas team in Ultimate Kho Kho, and a 50% stake in the Delhi Capitals IPL team—is preparing to launch the Rugby Premier League. The World Super Kabaddi League hopes to build credibility through institutional alignment. 'We are officially sanctioned by IKF and have 20 federations onboard, which gives us legitimacy. But now it's about execution," he added. For all its ambition, WSKL's real test will be fan retention, franchise patience, and its ability to turn kabaddi into a 12-month commercial asset. The format may be ready, but the world and the market will need convincing.
