VMPL
New Delhi [India], May 11: The Asian Kabaddi League (AKL) today announced its official launch as the world's first fully structured, commercially funded, and broadcast-backed professional women's kabaddi league, at a landmark press event held in New Delhi. The announcement marks a historic turning point for Indian sport placing women's kabaddi on a professional stage for the first time, with Sony Sports Network confirmed as the league's exclusive national broadcast partner.
Season 1 of the Asian Kabaddi League is scheduled to commence in August 2026, with eight city-based franchises competing across a structured season format. Approximately 120 contracted professional athletes women who have represented India at the highest levels of international kabaddi will compete as professionals for the first time, with salaries, contracts, coaching infrastructure, and national broadcast visibility.
Sony Sports Network Confirmed as Exclusive Broadcast Partner
AKL's partnership with Sony Sports Network will see league matches broadcast in prime time on Sony Sports, bringing women's kabaddi into millions of Indian households for the first time on a dedicated national sports platform. The partnership signals to the broader sports and media industry that women's kabaddi commands the same broadcast credibility and commercial potential as any established professional league in India.
"The partnership with Sony Sports Network is not just a broadcast deal. It is a declaration that women's kabaddi belongs in prime time, that these athletes belong on the biggest stage Indian sport has to offer, and that the audience for this sport is real, passionate, and has been waiting for exactly this moment."
Shauryaveer Chandwani, Director, Asian Kabaddi League
A League Built From the Ground Up
The Asian Kabaddi League was not built from a boardroom. Before a single franchise was signed or a broadcast agreement was finalised, the AKL team took to the road literally. Through its nationwide initiative, On The Road with AKL, the league travelled across cities, towns, and grassroots sporting communities, connecting directly with athletes, coaches, academies, and local kabaddi clubs across India.
The team rode Royal Enfield motorcycles from Delhi to Fazilka the Indo-Pakistan border stopping at kabaddi grounds, dhabas, and village communities along the route to spread awareness about the league and listen to the stories of the women who play the sport. The response was unequivocal: the hunger for a professional women's kabaddi league was not just present it had been waiting for years.
"We did not want to launch this league from a stage. We wanted to go to the people this league is built for before they had ever heard of us and tell them it was coming. Every kilometre of that ride told us something no market research could: the hunger for this league does not live in boardrooms. It lives in Punjab, in Haryana, in every village where a woman wakes up at four-thirty in the morning and trains because she loves this sport."
Shauryaveer Chandwani, Director, Asian Kabaddi League
More Than a League A Movement for Women's Empowerment
India's women have competed in kabaddi at the highest international levels for decades winning Asian Games gold medals, dominating Asian Championships, and producing elite athletes who are, by every technical measure, world-class. Yet until today, no professional league existed to give them the stage, the salary, or the national visibility their talent warranted.
AKL changes that permanently. Every player contracted to an AKL franchise will receive a professional salary, a formal contract, access to coaching and sports science support, and the prime-time broadcast visibility that their careers have always deserved. The league is also committed to building a long-term grassroots pipeline that connects village-level talent to professional franchises ensuring that the next generation of women kabaddi players has a visible, viable career pathway from the outset.
"As MD and CFO, people expect me to talk about numbers. I am not going to do that. I am going to tell you about a twenty-six-year-old national champion we met on a training ground in Sonipat. She had won three national championships, taken unpaid leave from her job to train, and when we asked what she wanted from this league, she said: I just want someone to watch. Tonight she has an audience of two hundred and fifty people in this room, and millions more on Sony Sports in August. We are watching. We will not look away again."
Dushyant Singh, Managing Director & CFO, Asian Kabaddi League
"The Asian Kabaddi League represents one of the most compelling revenue and media opportunities in Indian sport today. We are not building a niche property we are building the definitive professional platform for a sport with 400 million viewers already on record, a grassroots base unlike anything else in India, and a women's audience that brands and broadcasters have been trying to reach for years. The commercial foundation of AKL is as strong as its sporting vision."
Vikram Vijay Chandan, President Revenue Growth & Media, Asian Kabaddi League
AKL AT A GLANCE SEASON 1
* World's First Professional Women's Kabaddi League
* 8 City-Based Franchises across India
* Approximately 120 Contracted Professional Athletes
* Season 1 Launch: August 2026
* Exclusive Broadcast Partner: Sony Sports Network (Prime Time)
* Format: Franchise league with playoffs and Grand Final
* Pre-launch campaign: On The Road with AKL Delhi to Fazilka
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