New Kabaddi Federation launches new Kabaddi league. All you need to know

New Kabaddi Federation also decided to distribute 20% of the annual profits from the league to the participating players

The New Kabaddi Federation of India (NKFI) on Wednesday launched the Indo International Premier Kabaddi League beginning on January 26, 2019.

With a winner's cheque of 12.5 million, the league will see over 1,000 players, both domestic and International players, competing as part of eight franchises.

There is a pool of 823 Indian players, that includes 271 state-level players, 137 national and International level, 84 International registered players with NKF. The player draft will take place on January 5.

The league will feature eight teams in the inaugural edition, namely Bengaluru Rhinos, Chennai Cheetahs, Delhi Dumars, Telangana Bulls, Patna Panthers, Haryana Hurricanes, Mumbai Marathas and Kolkata Tigers.
 

Each franchise will have 2 to 3 international players. The format is one of double round robin, the league stage will consist of 62 matches over a period of one and a half months, the top 4 teams will qualify for the playoffs.

Each team will feature players from across the globe namely New Zealand, Poland, Argentina,Tanzania, Australia, Norway, United Kingdom, Canada and USA, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Mauritius, Kenya, Iraq, Denmark.

Interestingly, the federation also decided to distribute 20 percent of the annual profits from the league to the participating players.

All 62 games will be streamed on DSPORT, a sports TV channel by Discovery Communications India.

On the occasion of launching its new kabaddi league -- Indo International Premier Kabaddi League (IIPKL) -- NKF spokesperson Bharat Nagar without naming the AKFI said the new tournament will reach out to more players in the country's rural belt as the rival federation has created a monopoly in the game.
 

This will be the second franchisee based kabaddi tournament in the country after the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), which was launched in 2014.

Nagar said many kabaddi players didn't get a chance to showcase their talent as the AKFI is being ruled by a single family for the last many years while the NKF is formed by the players.

"We are overwhelmed to launch the Indo International Premier Kabaddi League in India. This will be the first league featuring the best of Indian and International players from across the world," General Secretary, NKF, MV Prasad Babu said.

"The purpose of the league is to give a fair chance to all players, to encourage competition which will benefit federations and players. We are providing 20 per cent of the profit to players and 50 percent to the state federation for the development of the game."
 

The selection trial will start from October 6 across the country for two months.

The league is a big step for The New Kabaddi Federation (NKFI), which was formed in May last year. The body is yet to be recognised by the International Kabaddi Federation, which is under the aegis of Olympic Council of Asia.

At loggers head with Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI), NKFI had alleged rampant malpractices in the selection process of the Indian teams for Asian Games.

After two petitioners -- C Honnappa Gowda and S Rajarathinam -- approached the Delhi High Court, it ordered the AKFI to conduct a selection process on September 15 under the supervision of Justice (retired) S P Garg as an observer.

However, there was no clarity of the order and it turned out to be just an exercise to follow a court order.