City to host Kabaddi World Cup knockouts and final

The knockout stages and the final of the Kabaddi World Cup will take place in Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton has been chosen to host the Kabaddi World Cup as the West Midlands becomes the first destination outside of Asia to host the event.

Aldersley Leisure Centre will stage the quarter-finals, while The Halls Wolverhampton will host the semi-finals and final in 2025.

The West Midlands Combined Authority and the Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund awarded the city £500,000 to host events.

Kabaddi began in India about 5,000 years ago and is now one of the fastest-growing sports in South Asia.

The contact sport originated in India about 5,000 years ago

The international tournament takes place in March 2025 and is set to feature players from men's and women's teams from across the world including India, Iran and Pakistan.

The contact sport sees teams broken down into raiders and blockers, with the aim of scoring points by entering opposition territory, tagging an opponent and making it back into their own half without being tackled to the ground.

As well as staging the group matches alongside Birmingham, Coventry and Walsall, Wolverhampton will also host the opening event.

Bhupinder Gakhal, City of Wolverhampton cabinet member for Visitor City, said: "Events of this scale bring direct and indirect economic benefit and put Wolverhampton firmly on the map as a destination of choice for visitors."