2021 Rugby League World Cup
| 2021 World Cup | |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 16 |
The 2021 Rugby League World Cup will be the sixteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup. The tournament will include 16 teams, an increase of two from the last two tournaments.[1]
The 2021 Rugby League World Cup hosts will be announced in October 2016.[2]
Host bidding
Potential Bids
On 25 November 2015, the Rugby Football League (RFL) welcomed the idea of Government support for England to host another World Cup. Chancellor George Osborne revealed in his spending review that, as well as increasing UK Sport's funding by 29 per cent, plans to host rugby league's international showpiece once more would also receive support. Record crowd numbers flowed through the turnstiles at the 21 venues across Britain, Ireland and France when the country last hosted the tournament in 2013 and hopes are high for a repeat performance. Nigel Wood (Chairman of the RLIF and a Director of the RFL) mentioned "Bringing another world class sporting tournament to the UK (after the 2012 London Olympics, 2013 Rugby League World Cup and 2015 Rugby World Cup) will undoubtedly excite the entire nation and we will work with partners to ensure that if the UK is to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, it will be the biggest and best ever staged."[3]
Cancelled Bids
On 18 April 2015, the United Arab Emirates declared an interest in hosting the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. Sol Mokdad, the president of UAERL, believed the country has the facilities, as well as the financial backing and infrastructure to host the World Cup. He mentioned that it was an ideal location as it is located between Australia and the UK and he believes it is the right time to host the tournament due to the big events being held in the UAE such as the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and the 2020 Dubai Expo.[4] On 20 April 2015, Dubai was named as host of the one-off qualifying match for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. The qualifier was to take place in Dubai Sports City on 30 October 2015 between Lebanon and South Africa.[5]
On May 25 2015, Sol Mokdad was arrested following a complaint from UAE rugby union officials. This resulted in the winding up of the UAERL and the end of the World Cup bid.[6] On 24 July 2015 the qualifier was shifted to Pretoria, South Africa.[7]
References
- ↑ "RLIF announces 16 team format for RLWC2021". rlif.com. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ↑ "2021 Rugby League World Cup". Rugby League Planet. 2015-10-24. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
- ↑ "RFL welcomes Government support for 2021 World Cup bid". Sky Sports. 2015-11-25. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
- ↑ "UAE plans bid to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup". Sky Sports. 2015-04-18. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
- ↑ "Dubai to host RLWC2017 Qualifier". Rugby League International Federation. 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
- ↑ "Sol Mokdad issues public apology to UAE Rugby Federation to end criminal proceedings against him". TheNational. 2015-05-25. Retrieved 2015-05-26.
- ↑ "Venue changed for Middle East-Africa RLWC qualifier". Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation. 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
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