World Kabaddi has given provisional approval for the European Kabaddi Championships to take place in Cyprus from October 2-3.
The tournament to be held in the city of Nicosia will be officially hosted by the Cyprus Kabaddi Federation (CKF) under the leadership of its president Ashwani Singh Kapoor.
This will be the second edition of the championships, that was last hosted in Glasgow two years ago.
The championship also comes in the wake of the successful Africa Kabaddi Championships held in the Tanzanian city of Dar Es Salaam earlier this month.
However, the conduct of the tournament is subject to the approval of the various health protocols due to the Covid-19 pandemic, by the relevant Cyprus authorities.
The tournament would be the first major kabaddi international to be held in Cyprus and indicates the growing stature of the sport in the continent.
It will also be the first major kabaddi competition in the continent in two years. World Kabaddi was to have organised a kabaddi competition during the TAFISA World Sports for All Games earlier this year in Lisboa, Portugal, but the event was converted into an online programme due to the pandemic.
Defending champions Poland are expected to make their bid to retain the title they won in Glasgow.
Among the other countries expected to challenge the Poles includes hosts Cyprus, Norway, England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Austria.
European nations hoping to be part of the championships can contact the CKF secretary Jaswinder Singh at secretary@cypruskabaddi.org for more details.
World Kabaddi hopes that the tournament would be a catalyst of rebranding the game after the two year hiatus of kabaddi events in the continent.
World Kabaddi is also in the midst of discussing with various members to conduct the Asia-Oceania Kabaddi Championships as well as the Pan America Kabaddi Championships.
With the 2nd World Cup rescheduled to be held next year, World Kabaddi is hoping for more internationals at the continental levels to help prepare the teams.