A new league draws up an international playbook with Olympic goals
Mumbai: Kabaddi’s global leap is making a new pressure and this time from an entrepreneurial bet in terms of scale, building and sports entertainment, not a publisher or a federation.
Sambhav Jain, SJ Uplift Kabaddi Pvt. LTD is preparing to launch the World Super Kabaddi League (WSKL) in February-March in Dubai. It is supported by the Franchise -based league, the International Kabaddi Federation and more than 20 national federations and has the ambition to push Kabaddi to be recognized.
“Entering Kabaddi in the Olympics requires at least 40 to 50 active participants. We start with 30 countries built and built there.”
The League provided commercial rights from the South Asian Kabaddi Federation and plans to configure WSKL as a league throughout the year, not as a seasonal tournament, but with academies, international skills and regional fan participation.
Kabaddi was first dressed in modern formats and was not pushed to a larger scene. But the question is: Can a sport in rural India maintain global attention beyond its opening week’s buzz?
WSKL believes that the differentiator has a player composition and location strategy. Unlike Kabaddi League, where 90% of women are Indian, WSKL translated the rate with 60-70% foreign players and 30-40% Indian athletes in the first season. For the next 2-3 years, Jain plans to reduce Indian representation in WSKL to 20% to make room for global abilities.
The league will operate with eight franchises and total player bags La48 Crore was completely financed by franchise owners. Negotiations with owners from the United States, Canada and South Korea continue.
“We are targeting sports investors who understand not only short -term exposure, but also risk, return and admiration, Jain said.
Before globalization, Jain tested the waters with the Uttar Pradesh Kabaddi League, a regional, franchise -based league, which was initiated by 1X Sportz Company in collaboration with the UP Kabaddi Association. In the opening season last year, eight teams and a professional auction format were traced with a combined base.
The Uttar Pradesh Kabaddi League encouraged early traction, including Jain’s broadcasting agreements and brand partnerships, which Jain calls “concept proof için for greater ambitions. “Upkl gave us an operational game book and showed that he was appetite as an IP (intellectual property) structured for Kabaddi,” he said.
WSKL’s Real Test
WSKL franchisees will provide a central income share through the investments envisaged in 2-3 seasons and media rights, sponsors and goods.
Dubai said he was chosen as a host city because of his strategic visibility and access to Diaspora viewers.
Authorized, non -exclusive, multi -regional union strategy on cards. Approved participating countries include Iran, South Korea, Bangladesh, Thailand, Japan and the United States.
Jain finances the initiative and does not have plans to dilute or collect funds. “We saw what will happen when the leagues were inflated too early. Lean, focused and configured for sustainability,” he said.
Nevertheless, the sports entertainment market is full of stimulating tales.
One of the legal turmoil of the Pro Volleyball League, the Indian Super League’s irregular football franchise economy and the table tennis struggling for consistent traction, the non -cricket leagues in India had mixed fate.
Jain believes that WSKL has learned from these failures. Uz We are not copying IPL (popular Indian Premier League 20-AAAA Cricket Format), ”he said. “We adapt the best practices, but we consider the cultural and commercial reality of Kabaddi. You cannot build a global league with a flash – you need the basis.”
ACG Group, a Mumbai -based pharmaceutical company, plans to avoid IPL format for the recently announced professional basketball league. The GMR Sports, which has a 50% stake in the UP YODDHAS team in the Pro Kabaddi League, the Telugu Yoddhas team in Ultimate KHO KHO and the Delhi Capitals IPL team, is preparing to start the Rugby Premier League.
The World Super Kabaddi League hopes to create reliability through corporate harmony. “We are officially approved by the IKF and we have 20 federations, which gives us legitimacy. But now it’s about execution,” he added.
For all his passion, WSKL’s real test will be the ability to hold a fan, to convert the patience of franchise and Kabaddi into a 12 -month commercial asset. The form may be ready, but the world and the market must be convincing.
