Rugby League World Cup 2026 Host Announcement Imminent
July 2023 – The International Rugby League (IRL) has confirmed that the host nation for the next Rugby League World Cup in 2026 will be announced later this month. This highly anticipated decision comes as the governing body also reveals more details about the road to the upcoming tournament.
The international rugby league scene has been under intense scrutiny in recent days, following the fallout from England’s match against France last weekend. However, attention is now shifting towards building momentum for the 2024 World Cup, which will be held in Australia, as reported earlier this year by Love Rugby League.
As for the 2026 World Cup, the IRL has stated that the host nation will be formally confirmed in July, following a thorough tender process. The governing body has also provided updates on the World Series event, which will determine some of the qualifiers for the 2026 tournament.
In a statement, the IRL said:
“International Rugby League is set to announce the hosts of IRL Rugby League World Cup 2026 this month and is progressing details of next year’s inaugural World Series to determine final places at the tournament. The IRL has previously announced that RLWC2026, featuring men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments, would be played in the Southern Hemisphere at the end of the 2026 NRL and Super League seasons. The hosts of World Series 2025 are scheduled to be announced later this year, with a tender process to commence in August.”
Furthermore, the IRL has revealed that the deadline for bid submissions to host the standalone 2028 women’s World Cup, 2029 wheelchair World Cup, and 2030 men’s World Cup has been pushed back to February 18, 2025, due to factors beyond the control of the tenderers, and with the support of all parties involved. The tenderers for these three world cups will be publicly announced this month.
Stay tuned for the upcoming announcement of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup host nation, as well as further updates on the road to the next major international rugby league tournament.
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