- November 22, 2016
- Posted by: SportsV
- Categories: Event News, Home News, News
Following the recommendation of the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) Board to conditionally award the 2025 Rugby League World Cup to North America, the RLIF Congress endorsed the Board’s recommendation at its annual general meeting held in Liverpool, England, on 17 November.
RLIF Chairman Nigel Wood commented:
The award of the 2025 World Cup to North America is a historic moment in the global development of Rugby League. The USA and Canada provides world class stadia allied to a significant multi cultural population which made the bid so persuasive. It is exciting that our sport is expanding into a new destination for our premier event the World Cup and we will work with our members in the USA and Canada and Moore Sports International to expand the presence of our sport in these countries during the lead in to the 2025 World Cup.
The Board will now work with Moore Sports International to complete the due diligence and exchange of contracts to complete the award.
The President and CEO of Moore Sports International, who have led the bid to take the Rugby League World Cup to the USA and Canada in 2025, has welcomed the decision.
Jason Moore, President and CEO, Moore Sports International, said:
I thank the RLIF Board for their enthusiasm and vision for Rugby League and in particular the tens of thousands of Rugby League Fans, in North America and around the globe, who gave us such strong support throughout this process.
This is a powerful statement for Rugby League and its bright future in North America. I also thank the Moore Sports International extraordinary team of people in the USA and Australia that worked tirelessly on a high quality and strategically well-constructed bid.
We at Moore Sports International are all very excited by the challenges that lay ahead in presenting a great 2025 World Cup in USA and Canada.
This announcement came hot on the heels of confirmation that England will host the Rugby League World Cup in 2021. The tournament is anticipated to host a million spectators at venues across England, including in the sport’s heartlands in the Northern Powerhouse. The UK government is committing up to GB£25m to the tournament and its legacy, with up to GB£15m pledged to support the staging of the event and up to GB£10m for Rugby League’s infrastructure – to grow the game across the country.
The event will include men’s, women’s and wheelchair rugby league competitions.
UK Minister for Sport, Tracey Crouch, said:
I am delighted that England has been chosen to stage the Rugby League World Cup in 2021. The government is investing up to £15 million to put on a world-class show and up to a further £10 million into the game’s infrastructure as part of our Northern Powerhouse agenda – and to help rugby league grow outside its traditional home.
The tournament will be a fantastic festival of rugby, enjoyed by a million spectators, and bringing economic benefits to host towns and cities. I look forward to working alongside the RLIF, RFL and UK Sport on an outstanding event.
The Board confirmed that the draw for the 2017 Womens World Cup will be:
Pool A – Australia, England, Cook Islands
Pool B – New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Canada
The pool matches and semi-finals will played in the Southern Cross Group Stadium in Cronulla, New South Wales, between November 16 and 26, with the Final being played in Brisbane on 2 December. The top two teams from each pool will compete in the semi-finals.
The RLIF further announced that to assist the maximum number of teams to participate in the Wheelchair World Cup this will be held in France.
With the determination of the venue for the 2025 World Cup, the Board will now complete the international calendar.
210 delegates attended the RLIF Congress hosted by the Rugby Football League with a variety of speakers including Olympic Gold medalists, leaders of the RLWC13, 17, 21 and 25, as well as industry experts.
RLIF Chief Executive David Collier commented:
The Rugby Football League provided the RLIF delegates with an outstanding Congress sharing best practice in sport and providing information concerning the RLIF’s future global events. The significant expansion of Congress delivered one of the key goals within our strategic plan, Global Conversion, to support Members and to share best practice.
To align this Congress with the Final of the 4 nations enabled delegates to also experience Rugby League in one of the world’s most iconic stadiums. The decisions arising from our meetings in Liverpool have given fresh impetus to the global expansion of the sport and we look forward to an exciting year in 2017 with the World Cup less than a year away and tickets now on sale for the matches in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Source: rlif.com
