2028 Women's Rugby League World Cup
| 2028 Women's Rugby League World Cup | |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 8 |
< 2026 2032 > | |
The 2028 Women's Rugby League World Cup will be the eighth staging of the Women's Rugby League World Cup, and will be the first stand alone Women's Rugby League World Cup since the women's tournament was made a primary event and moved out of the Festival of World Cups in 2017.
The competition is expected to be held in during October and November 2028.
Background
Following 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.[citation needed]
On 3 August 2023, the IRL announced that the women's tournament would become a stand alone event starting in 2028, reflecting the tournament's "phenomenal rate of growth" and to ease the strain on future hosts.[1][2]
The women's tournament became a primary event in 2017, with the 2017 World Cup the first to be held concurrently with the men's.[3] Prior to this the women's tournament was played as part of the Festival of World Cups in the build up to the men's event.[4]
Host selection
On 13 November 2023, the IRL confirmed eight nations had expressed interest in hosting the 2028 World Cup.[5]
On 28 July 2024, the IRL announced France, Kenya, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and South Africa had bid to host the tournament.[6]
The host nation is expected to be announced after February 2025.[7]
References
- ^ "Southern hemisphere to host 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. 3 August 2023.
- ^ "Reduced Rugby League World Cup to take place in 2026". The Guardian.
- ^ "Sydney to host historic Women's World Cup in 2017". NRL.com. 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
- ^ "About the Festival of World Cups". FOWC2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
- ^ "11 countries express interest in hosting future Rugby League World Cups, confirm IRL board". Wigan Today. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ "Women's RLWC2029 Tenderers Announced". Rugby League International Federation. 28 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/five-nations-in-running-for-2030-world-cup-including-two-african-nations-and-usa