Pro Kabaddi League, the boldest revolution in Indian sport, launched!

Pro Kabaddi League, the boldest revolution in Indian sport, launched!
Star Sports to be official broadcast partner; India’s leading entrepreneurs among
team owners (Uday Kotak, Ronnie Screwvala, Kishore Biyani and others);
advanced discussions with GMR group, Murugappa Group and leading
entertainment personalities.
Mumbai, March 14, 2014 - Mashal Sports Pvt. Ltd. and the International Kabaddi
Federation today announced the launch of the biggest revolution in the history of Indian
sport – the Pro Kabaddi League, at the National Sports Club of India, Mumbai. Over
the years, Kabaddi has progressed from a frequently played and much loved Indian
sport, to a skilled team game, played in the international world of sport. The Pro
Kabaddi League will further advance the sport’s reputation and reach internationally, by
bringing together Indian and international players, acclaimed Indian personalities and
sports authorities.
Star Sports will be the official broadcast partner for the Pro Kabaddi League. Matches
will be held on a 'home and away' format with daily, LIVE, prime-time coverage.
Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Gupta, Chief Operating Officer, Star India, said,
“Our association with Kabaddi is in line with our stated objective of transforming the
sports landscape and enabling the growth of a multi-sport culture in India. Pro Kabaddi
will build an ecosystem that can potentially take this game to the next level. We plan to
offer an immersive and engaging experience for the Kabaddi viewers.”
WSG (World Sport Group) Asia’s largest sports marketing, media and event
management company, are the official commercial and event partners of the Pro
Kabaddi League.
Charu Sharma, well known Indian commentator, compere and quizmaster and
also Managing Director of Mashal Sports is the force behind conceptualizing and
organizing the League. Sharing his thoughts behind the creation of Pro Kabaddi, he
said, “Having played and covered a very wide variety of sports over decades, it was a
pleasant shock to discover the reach, power and passion of Kabaddi, while
commentating on the sport at the 2006 Doha Asian Games. I just knew, instinctively
then, and more surely now, that modern, international Kabaddi has all the ingredients
required to make it a major, visible force in the world of sport. I am truly grateful to the
many visionaries who have made Pro Kabaddi possible.”
The Pro Kabaddi League has seen significant franchisee interest. Already pledging their
support as team owners are leading entrepreneurs such as Ronnie Screwvala, Rajesh
Shah (Mukand Group) and Kishore Biyani. Advanced discussions are on with other
corporate giants such as the GMR Group and Murugappa Group. With the world of sport
inextricably linked with entertainment, there is also interest from major film personalities.
True to his commitment on supporting Indian sports, Anand Mahindra – Co promoter,
Mashal Sports, will play a key role in championing the rise of the game through the Pro
Kabaddi League. Speaking on the occasion, he said, “A vibrant, professional sports
league can bring about a transformational change for the sport and its players. Pro
Kabaddi is our attempt at bringing this change to our very own, extremely popular sport
of Kabaddi. The modern, international, competitive form of the quintessentially Indian
sport is already extremely popular across the world and with good television coverage
and passionate team owners; Kabaddi's massive following has the potential to make it
the next big thing in sport”. During the media launch Mr. Mahindra added, “We continue
to be overwhelmed by the support we have received so far from all our partners in
wanting to make this league successful.”
The Pro Kabaddi League has been organized in association with International Kabaddi
Federation, Asian Kabaddi Federation and Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India. “We
are focused on giving Kabaddi and the players a much deserved platform not only to
show their mettle but also to take the game to the next level of awareness,
competitiveness and sophistication in India. We are also committed to making Kabaddi
a high priority game in the Indian sports landscape” said Janardan Singh Gehlot,
President - International Kabaddi Federation.
Mr. Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & Creative Director-South Asia, Ogilvy &
Mather said, “Kabaddi is the ultimate combination of power, agility and tactics. It is one
of India’s unique treasures and I am glad that we are able to present it an international
stage in such an exciting format.”
All Pro Kabaddi League matches will be played on a specially developed mat in state of
the art indoor stadiums across eight cities. Top Kabaddi players from across India and
the globe will participate in a show of intense competition and sporting camaraderie. A
10 minute exhibition match between top players in an 'arena-within-an-arena' at the
NSCI Indoor Stadium, Mumbai spectacularly showcased the fresh, exciting and
international face of Kabaddi.
Also launched was the Official Website www.prokabaddi.com. The site, with its clean
look and easy navigation, is a repository of information on all things related to Pro
Kabaddi as well as Kabaddi in general. It will become a key resource for everyone
involved in the sport.
The matches will be preceded by a player auction, where each of the teams will get
equal opportunity to build their squads. Almost 100 players will be auctioned, out of
which 72 players will be Indian and the rest will be international players from
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Canada, England, Indonesia, Italy, Islamic Republic of Iran,
Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkmenistan,
United States of America, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. The League is bound to take the
sport to a new level of prominence and ensure that stars such as Navneet Gautam,
Rakesh Kumar, Ajay Thakur and Rajaguru are bound to become the new sporting
heroes of our land.
Matches will be played as per the current international rules and regulations of the IKF.
The Federation is also seriously considering making some small but significant changes
to the game, to enhance its appeal on television.
Pro Kabaddi League, will have robust marketing strategies. Each franchisee will not only
have their team colors and star players but also create their own fan following with
innovative media outreach strategies. Sports enthusiasts, in India and across the world,
can keep track of the matches, scores, players as well as participate in the game
through social media platforms such as the Pro Kabaddi League website
www.prokabaddi.com, Twitter handle @prokabaddi and Facebook page Pro
Kabaddi.
About Mashal Sports: Team Mashal celebrates diversity along with the same level of
patriotism for our country. In India, where popular sports that originate from other parts
of the world are almost considered religion, we are uninformed or neglect other sports
rooted in the very soil we live on. As a sports management company, we look forward to
bringing back the enthusiasm for Indian traditional sports among the youth. Our prime
focus is national sports, but is not limited to them entirely. We aim to explore where no
man has gone before.
A first significant initiative of Mashal Sports, driven by Anand Mahindra (Mahindra &
Mahindra), Piyush Pandey (Ogilvy & Mather), Rajiv Luthra (Luthra & Luthra Law Offices)
and Charu Sharma (Managing Director), is a revolutionary Pro Kabaddi league with
franchises across eight Indian cities to be launched later this year. Our key partners
include STAR Sports (Broadcaster), Ogilvy & Mather, World Sport Group, and the
International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), Asian Kabaddi Federation (AKF) & Amateur
Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI).
Mashal Sports has established itself as a company of fairness and integrity; this is our
promise.
About Pro Kabaddi : Pro Kabaddi, a significant initiative of Mashal Sports, takes our
truly indigenous sport of Kabaddi to levels of new professionalism, which will benefit all
stakeholders involved in the ecosystem of the game, Kabaddi, most of all, the players
themselves, who will become the new role models for the youth of India. This bold step
will highlight the new, modern, international and competitive face of Kabaddi throughout
the length and breadth of the country, and beyond.
Pro Kabaddi proposes an eight-city league with games to be played on a home & away
basis with each team playing each other twice in July and August, 2014. In a significant
value addition to Kabaddi, these games will be carried live on prime time TV by the
international broadcaster, Star Sports for millions to view across India and the world.
This unique effort has the formal backing by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF),
the Asian Kabaddi Federation (AAKF) & the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India
(AKFI), who will be closely associated with the organization and delivery of this event.
About WSG: Headquartered in Singapore, World Sport Group is a sports marketing,
event management and media company in Asia. World Sport Group manages almost
600 days of sports events annually, across more than 30 countries in the region.

Download Report