stylistic:style_transfer
Sports

Bahrain is the first nation other than United States of America to host International Mixed Martial Arts Federation World Championships of Amateur MMA in partnership with Brave Combat Federation. Bahrain have recorded an influx in global athletes visiting the nation for Mixed Martial Arts training during 2017. Brave Combat Federation is a Bahrain-based Mixed Martial Arts promotion that has hosted events in 30 nations which is a record for hosting events in most number of nations by an MMA promotion. Bahrain MMA Federation (BMMAF) has been set up under the patronage of Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and the jurisdiction of the Sports Minister, Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa. 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. Bahrain will be hosting Amateur World Championships 2017 in association with International Mixed Martial Arts Federation. Bahrain will be the first Asian and Arab country to host the amateur MMA championship. Bahrain is also home to KHK MMA Fight Team, that facilitates training for some of the prominent talent in Mixed Martial Arts in the world who compete in BRAVE Combat Federation, PFL, and UFC.

In 2018, Cricket was introduced in Bahrain under the initiative of KHK Sports and Exelon. Bahrain Premier League 2018 comprised six franchise squads of 13 resident cricketers competing in the T20 format. The teams were SRam MRam Falcons, Kalaam Knight-Riders, Intex Lions, Bahrain Super Giants, Four Square Challengers and Awan Warriors.

Football is also a popular sport in Bahrain. Bahrain's national football team has competed multiple times at the Asian Cup, Arab Nations Cup and played in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, though it has never qualified for the World Cup. Bahrain's national football team won the West Asian Football Federation cup and the Arabian Gulf Cup in 2019. Both the cups came under the helm of Helio Sousa who is the manager of the nation's national football team. Bahrain has its own top-tier domestic professional football league, the Bahraini Premier League. On 3 August 2020, the Kingdom of Bahrain bought a minority stake in the Paris F.C., a team that plays in France's second tier. Bahrain's entry into the soccer club spurred criticism that the country is trying to whitewash its human rights record and this is another way of buying influence in Europe.

Basketball, rugby and horse racing are also widely popular in the country. The government of Bahrain also sponsors a UCI WorldTeam cycling team, Bahrain Victorius, which participated in the 2017 Tour de France.

Bahrain has a Formula One race track, which hosted the inaugural Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix on 4 April 2004, the first in an Arab country. This was followed by the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2005. Bahrain hosted the opening Grand Prix of the 2006 season on 12 March of that year. Both the above races were won by Fernando Alonso of Renault. The race has since been hosted annually, except for 2011 when it was cancelled due to ongoing anti-government protests. The 2012 race occurred despite concerns of the safety of the teams and the ongoing protests in the country. The decision to hold the race despite ongoing protests and violence has been described as "controversial" by Al Jazeera English, CNN, AFP and Sky News. The Independent named it "one of the most controversial in the history of the sport".

In 2006, Bahrain also hosted its inaugural Australian V8 Supercar event dubbed the " Desert 400 ". The V8s returned every November to the Sakhir circuit until 2010, in which it was the second event of the series. The series has not returned since. The Bahrain International Circuit also features a full-length dragstrip where the Bahrain 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.

On June 10 2024 the Bahrain Olympic Academy received the Athena honorary distinction for its role in aiding and supporting advancement of sports in its region. The honorary medal was presented to his highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa by Isidoros Kouvelos, President of IOA.