The 2030 Men's Rugby League World Cup will be the eighteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup, and will revert to a stand-alone tournament with the women's and wheelchair tournaments being played in 2028 and 2029 respectively.
| 2030 Men's Rugby League World Cup | |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 16 |
< 2026 2034 > | |
The competition is expected to be held in during October and November 2030.
Background
editFollowing the withdrawal of France as host of the 2025 Rugby League World Cups, the International Rugby League (IRL) recognised it would become increasingly difficult for one or two nations to host three growing tournaments.
On 3 August 2023, the IRL announced the men's tournament would continue on a four-year cycle with the next edition taking place in 2026 (four years after the postponed 2021 tournament) and held concurrently with the women's and wheelchair tournaments. The following men's event would take place in 2030 with the next women's tournament taking place as a stand-alone event in 2028 before continuing on a four-year cycle. The decision was made to ease the strain on future hosts.[1][2] The same decision was made on 13 November for the wheelchair tournament for the same reason, with their new four-year cycle starting in 2029.[3]
Before 2017 the women's tournament was played in build up to the men's tournament as was the wheelchair tournament before 2021, both being played as part of the Festival of World Cups.[4]
Host selection
editOn 13 November 2023, the IRL confirmed seven nations had expressed interest in hosting the 2030 World Cup.[5]
On 29 July 2024, the IRL announced Kenya, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, and the United States had bid to host the tournament.[6]
The host nation is expected to be announced after February 2025.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Southern hemisphere to host 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. August 3, 2023.
- ^ "Reduced Rugby League World Cup to take place in 2026". The Guardian.
- ^ "International Rugby League Board confirms details for World Series, World Cups". Rugby League International Federation. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- ^ "About the Festival of World Cups". FOWC2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
- ^ https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby-league/11-countries-express-interest-in-hosting-future-rugby-league-world-cups-confirm-irl-board-4407864
- ^ https://www.intrl.sport/article/210/mens-rlwc2030-tenderers-announced
- ^ https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/five-nations-in-running-for-2030-world-cup-including-two-african-nations-and-usa