Sport in Bahrain

Sports such as horse racing, mixed martial arts, cricket and rugby union have gained popularity over the past few decades.

[5] However, the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix went ahead despite concerns of the safety of the teams and the ongoing protests in the country.

[11] The circuit also hosts the annual 8 Hours of Bahrain as part of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The development of MMA in the nation is convened through KHK MMA, which owns Brave 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 Sheikh Khalid 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 Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

[17] Bahrain hosted Amateur World Championships in 2017, 2018, and 2019 in association with International Mixed Martial Arts Federation.

[18] KHK MMA Fight Team featured fighters from multiple promotions including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Frankie Edgar, Jose Torres, Muhammad Mokaev, Hamza Kooheji, Shamil Gaziev and James Gallagher.

[22] The first ever Endurance 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 the year 1986, the Safria Team was established for representing the Kingdom of Bahrain in both the military and civil show jumping championships abroad.

[27] The overall league champions will be given the chance of representing Bahrain in the Arab Club Basketball Championship, held in the following year.

[30] Bahrain has a national cricket team whose first international appearance was at the ACC Trophy in 2004, where they failed to progress beyond the first round.

Earlier in the year they won the ACC Middle East Cup, beating Afghanistan in the final.

The teams were SRam MRam Falcons, Kalaam Knight-Riders, Intex Lions, Bahrain Super Giants, Four Square Challengers and Awan Warriors.