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A variety ofsports in Bahrain are popular with widespread following.Association football is the most popular sport in the country.[1] Other traditionally popular sports includebasketball,volleyball andhandball. Sports such ashorse racing,mixed martial arts,cricket andrugby union have gained popularity over the past few decades.
Bahrain has its owntop-tier domestic professionalfootball league, theBahraini Premier League. It features 10 football clubs that play a two-round robin set, with each team playing a total of 18 fixtures.[2] The winners of the domestic championship qualify for theAFC Cup.
The league uses apromotion and relegation system with theBahraini Classification League, Bahrain's second-tier football league. The season usually starts in September and concludes in May, as in other football leagues. The first season was held in 1952. Although games are played on a home and away basis, almost all games are played at theBahrain National Stadium.
The bottom placed club is relegated with the team finishing second bottom entering a relegation/promotion playoff match. The most successful club in the league's history isAl-Muharraq SC. The current reigning champion of the 2011-2012 football season isRiffa club.[3]
| Club | Number of Championships |
|---|---|
| Muharraq Club | 32 |
| Bahrain Riffa Club (includes West Riffa) | 10 |
| Bahrain Club | 5 |
| Al-Ahli | 5 |
| Arabi Club | 1 |
| Al Hala | 1 |
| Al-Nasr | 1 |
| East Riffa Club | 1 |
Motorsport is one of the most popular sports in Bahrain. Bahrain has aFormula One race-track, theBahrain International Circuit, which hosted the inauguralGulf AirBahrain Grand Prix on 4 April 2004, the first in an Arab country. The race was won byScuderia Ferrari driverMichael Schumacher. After hosting the third round of the championship in2005, Bahrain hostedthe opening Grand Prix of the 2006 season on 12 March of that year. Both the 2005 and 2006 races were won byFernando Alonso ofRenault. The 2007 event took place on 13, 14 April and 15.[4]
The2011 edition of the race was cancelled due to civil unrest.[5] However, the2012 Bahrain Grand Prix went ahead despite concerns of the safety of the teams and the ongoingprotests in the country.[6]Sebastian Vettel won the race. The race's opponents described the decision to hold the race despite ongoing protests and violence[7] as one of the most controversial Grand Prix in the sport's history.[8][9][10]
In 2014, the event was held under lights for the first time, making it the second full night race on the F1 calendar after theSingapore Grand Prix (theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix is a day-night race).[11]
The circuit also hosts the annual8 Hours of Bahrain as part of theFIA World Endurance Championship.
In 2006, Bahrain also hosted its inaugural AustralianV8 Supercar event dubbed the "Desert 400". The circuit also features a full-lengthdrag strip where theBahrain Drag Racing Club has organised invitational events featuring some of Europe's top drag racing teams to try to raise the profile of the sport in the Middle East.[12]
Mixed martial arts is legalized in Bahrain. The development of MMA in the nation is convened through KHK MMA, which ownsBrave Combat Federation which is the largest Mixed Martial Arts promotion in the Middle East and the organization that has hosted events in the most number of nations globally.[13][14] BRAVE Combat Federation was established on 23 September 2016 by SheikhKhalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.[15] The organization based in Bahrain has showcased 82 events to date,[16] in 31 different countries around the world, including five of its shows taking place in the Kingdom itself.
Bahrain MMA Federation (BMMAF) has been set up under the patronage of SheikhKhalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.[17] Bahrain hosted Amateur World Championships in 2017, 2018, and 2019 in association withInternational Mixed Martial Arts Federation. Bahrain is the first Asian and Arab country to host the amateur MMA championship.[18]
KHK MMA Fight Team featured fighters from multiple promotions includingKhabib Nurmagomedov,Frankie Edgar,Jose Torres,Muhammad Mokaev, Hamza Kooheji,Shamil Gaziev and James Gallagher.[19] Apart from professional MMA, athletes from KHK MMA also competes inInternational Mixed Martial Arts Federation championships representing the Kingdom of Bahrain, ranking first in the Senior National Team Rankings.[20]
Equestrian sports are one of the most popular sports in the country.[21] Horse riding is governed by theBahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (BREEF) which was founded in 2003, having replaced the previous governing body, theBahrain Equestrian Association.[22] The BREEF is headquartered in the town ofAwali, south of the capitalManama.[22] The first everEndurance racing started on 7 October 2004 with the grand event, of a distance of 120 km, being held on 7 December that year.[22] In 2005, the 'World Championship for Juniors and Young Riders' race was held in Bahrain, attracting international riders and attention.[22]
Bahrain has been a member of theInternational Equestrian Federation since 1985, a member of theAsian Equestrian Association since 1989 and a member of thePan-Arab Equestrian Federation since 1990.[22]
The kingdom is home to multiple training stables.[23][24][25]
The official sport ofshow jumping has its origins in Bahrain dating back to 1976. The sport was first played by the modern pentathlon team of theBahrain Defense Force.[22] In the year 1986, the Safria Team was established for representing the Kingdom of Bahrain in both the military and civil show jumping championships abroad.[22]
Bahrain has a professionalbasketball league, featuring 11 club teams. The top four teams of the league, at the end of the season, move on to the 'Golden Square', where the top seeds play the fourth seeds and the second take on the third in separate best-of-three series. The best-of-five championship series follows.
In addition to the league, a basketball cup, the Zain Bahrain Basketball Cup, is available where the top two teams at the end will then battle for the Cup in a[best-of-three finale. The winner of the cup will represent Bahrain in the Asian Clubs Basketball Championships.[26]
Both the league and cup is sponsored byZain.[27]
The overall league champions will be given the chance of representing Bahrain in the Arab Club Basketball Championship, held in the following year.[28]
ProfessionalCricket is governed by theBahrain Cricket Association.[29] The sport is largely popular amongstSouth Asian expatriates in the country.[30] Bahrain has anational cricket team whose first international appearance was at theACC Trophy in 2004, where they failed to progress beyond the first round. They took part in the tournament again in August 2006, putting in a much better performance to finish in 6th place. Earlier in the year they won the ACC Middle East Cup, beatingAfghanistan in the final.[31]
In 2018, franchise based T20 cricket was introduced for the first time in Bahrain.[32] Six teams were featured in the first edition of the event. The teams were SRam MRam Falcons, Kalaam Knight-Riders, Intex Lions, Bahrain Super Giants, Four Square Challengers and Awan Warriors.[33]
Bahrain's debut in theICC World Cricket League was in 2009 when they won the2009 Global Division Seven tournament and hence advancing toDivision Six.[34] They had another strong tournament in Division Six, coming runners up and gaining back to back promotions in the process. In 2010 they competed inDivision Five inNepal.[34] In November 2009 Bahrain played in the2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup. They finished bottom of Group B, losing all five of their matches on the process. In the eleventh placed playoff Bahrain defeatedChina by 93 runs to finish the tournament in eleventh place.
The country also has its own cricket league, with 48 teams and over 750 cricketers playing in theBahrain Cricket League.[35] The league was founded in 1981 under the name "Junior Cricket League" and initially had 4 teams. By 2010, this had risen to 46.[36]
Rugby sevens and full rugby union are played in Bahrain, with the Bahrainis having their own national sevens team. Bahrain's Rugby Football Club was first founded in 1970, as a branch of the localBritish Club. It has its own rugby league.[37] Bahrain also has its ownnational sevens rugby team.
At the2012 Olympic Games inLondon, England, runnerMaryam Yusuf Jamal became Bahrain's first Olympic medalist when she won a bronze in the women's 1,500m race. Jamal is the first female athlete from a Persian Gulf nation to win an Olympic medal. Bahrain hosts a variety of Olympic-level sports centers.[38]
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