Which countries form part of World Kabaddi Federation?

You'll be surprised by some of the countries that play the sport professionally.

On 5th December 2003, the World Kabaddi Federation (WKF) was approved for formation. The event took place on the sidelines of the International Gold Cup.

On 1st October 2004, the World Kabaddi Federation came into existence. The Federation had the vision to control all the Kabaddi organizations of the member countries under the umbrella of WKF. It also sought to use Kabaddi to promote peace, understanding, and cooperation amongst the world's nations.

Over the years the game's excitement and thrills have made it very popular and Kabaddi is rightly known as the "Game of the People," because spectators fully engage and encourage the players. The game is played by over 50m people from 65 countries around the world according to the WKF official record. 

The game is popular in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Iran, Korea, Argentina, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, China, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia, and many other countries.

Let's look at the continent-wise list of the countries where the game is played as per official records: 

Asia: Indian Subcontinent

As stated above the game is popular in the Indian subcontinent which includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Other countries which play the game include; 

Asia

Afghanistan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkmenistan 

America

West Indies, Argentina, Mexico, United States of America and Canada. 

Ricardo A. Acuna of Argentina was nominated to the position of President of the American Kabaddi Federation on April 20, 2006.

Oceania

Australia and New Zealand 

Mehnga Singh Khakh of Australia was nominated for the position of President of the Oceania Kabaddi Federation on March 12, 2007.

Europe

Austria, Denmark, Scotland, France, Germany, England, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, and Sweden. 

Africa

Kenya and Sierra Leone 

Joseph Kaneka Kanu of Sierra Leone was nominated to the position of President of the African Kabaddi Federation on April 23, 2009.

India won the last Kabaddi World Cup held in 2016. They defeated Iran in the finals. South Korea and Thailand were the other two teams in the semi-finals.