Bahrain is well known for its rich heritage sites, pearls, a resource of oil as well as its rich tapestry of traditions, culture, music, and art.
It should also be noted that Bahrain has played a vital role in enriching sports in the region and globally.
Olympic wins
Since 1984, Bahrain has been participating in the Summer Olympics with Maryam Yusuf Jamal winning the bronze medal in Olympics for the 1500m race in 2012 and teenager Ruth Jebet winning the first gold medal for Bahrain in women’s 3000-meter steeplechase in 2016.
Bahrain Grand Prix
Bahrain Grand Prix, also known as Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Bahrain, is the yearly eagerly awaited prestigious formula one championship race. History was made In April 2004, when the first race took place at the Bahrain International Circuit as the first-ever Formula One Grand Prix to be held in the Middle East.
Football
The Bahrain National Football team represents Bahrain in international football under the Bahrain Football Association, which was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966, as well as the Bahraini Premier League, which was established in 1957. Recently Bahrain’s flag flew high as Bahrain won the Football Gulf Cup in 2019.
Basketball
The Bahraini Premier League, also known as the Zain Basketball League, is a professional basketball league in Bahrain. The league consists of 13 teams with Al Manama being the current five-time defending champions.
Ironman
Ironman is a global championship and was the Bahrain chapter was inaugurated in 2014 with the vision of into which is also annually held in Bahrain, by HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad al Khalifa president of the Bahrain Olympic Committee and the head of the government’s Supreme Council for Youth and Sports.
Establishment of MMA in Bahrain
KHK MMA (Khalid Bin Hamad Al Khalifa Mixed Martial Arts) was established working toward the development of Mixed Martial Arts.
Under KHK MMA, HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad al Khalifa established BRAVE Combat Federation in 2016. Within a short period of time, BRAVE CF has grown rapidly and successfully showcased 34 events to date around the globe becoming the largest mixed martial arts promotion in the Middle East and the fastest-growing organization in the world.
BRAVE Combat Federation has also transformed into the biggest-ever Bahraini-born sports enterprise, with a worldwide network of fighters, federations, managers, and fans. The promotion has hosted events in 19 countries and five continents so far, flying the flag of the Kingdom in each new territory conquered.
On this same platform, Bahrain hosted the Olympics of MMA, the IMMAF World Championships for the last three years, making the Kingdom a must-go destination to combat sports fans around the globe.
In 2020, Bahrain will take it one step further and host the first-ever World Team Championships, which is set to become the World Cup of MMA, where countries will collide in search of worldwide domination in the sport.
KHK MMA organization has taken ownership of the development, sustainability, and advancement in the field of MMA through forming, training and supporting national-level teams, to become worthy of representing Bahrain on international platforms and putting Bahrain on the MMA map.
This movement has led the Kingdom of Bahrain to lead the rankings in mixed martial arts in 2019. MMA is the first sport where a Bahraini team has been deemed the best in the world, another significant landmark for sports in the Kingdom.