Brian Barwick said the success of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup has afforded England the chance to stage it again after the Rugby Football League announced it will bid to host the 2021 tournament.
The RFL’s move is the first official bid and is widely expected to win when the Rugby League International Federation decides on a host this autumn. South Africa and the United States have expressed an interest but the RFL believes its track record makes England strong contenders. “We’re confident, but not complacent,” said the bid’s tournament director, Jon Dutton.
The bid includes a target of one million spectators, double the number who attended games in 2013. The 16th edition of the World Cup will be the largest with 16 countries and 31 games, and Barwick, the RFL chairman, believes England can deliver the event on a greater scale than ever before.
“Given how successful 2013 went, it may have taken people by surprise,” he said. “But we had people working behind the scenes to put it together and they deserve huge recognition – and that has fuelled our desire to host the 2021 event on a whole different level. I am proud to present the English bid, one I think offers rugby league the best opportunity to grow as a sport both in this country and also importantly helping the RLIF to grow the game across the globe.”
Twelve stadiums from a shortlist of 15 will host matches, with regular rugby league stadiums included as well as venues such as St James’ Park, which is the current host of Magic Weekend, the Etihad Stadium, Wembley and Old Trafford, the venue for the 2013 final in which Australia beat New Zealand.
The bid will be supported by £15m from the government that has already been signed off should England be given the go-ahead. “The UK is proud to have delivered some of the most memorable sporting events in history including the 2013 Rugby League World Cup,” said the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, John Whittingdale. “We now want to build on the success of 2013 by hosting the competition once again in 2021.
“The government’s support for the RFL’s bid will help put on a larger tournament that not only brings economic benefits to host towns and cities in rugby league’s heartland but promotes the sport to a wider audience both nationally and around the world.”
Eighty per cent of matches will be staged in Yorkshire and Lancashire, according to the RFL’s presentation, but Dutton has said that could be open to change if any further cities signal an intention to become a World Cup venue. “It was a key part of our discussions to have so many games in the heartlands,” he said. “We’ve had to put together a schedule to calculate budgets and venues but as is always the case, it will go through a tender process if the bid is successful. We will open our arms to cities wanting to bid.”
The RFL also plans to open a national centre for the sport should the bid be successful, which will be funded by an extra £10m of funding from the government to help establish the infrastructure of the sport in the north of England.
“Rugby league still doesn’t have a national home,” said the RFL chief executive, Nigel Wood. “We have three facilities in Leeds, Manchester and an office in London but we would like a true national home of the sport where rugby league is properly represented. I would hope we could do that within three years.”
The venues for next year’s World Cup to be held in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 26 October and 2 December will be announced next month. The tournament is expected to open in Melbourne, with the final at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
