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Rugby League World Cup - One Year To Go

Published 23 October 2020

Friday 23 October 2020 marks exactly one year to go to the Rugby League World Cup 2021 in England – an event which is supported by UK Sport.

As the lead government agency for major sporting events at the UK level, UK Sport worked alongside the Rugby Football League on the bid process and, on 27 October 2016, England was successfully chosen as host for the Rugby League World Cup for 2021.

UK Sport is managing the £15million of government funding that is being invested into the Rugby League World Cup 2021, which will run from October 23 to November 27 across 18 host towns and cities and be the first ever edition to host the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments all together.

In another first, the delivery of the tournament’s social engagement is taking place before a ball is even passed and alongside the event planning. Here in the UK the work of the InspirationALL project includes helping more people become more active, delivering a mental fitness charter and distributing capital grants to Rugby Football League clubs across the country through the CreatedBy programme.

Internationally, UK Sport have been supporting the International Development Programme, which aims to develop the sport in 16 emerging nations to help grow the game at all levels as part of the sport’s long-term strategy.

The International Development Programme consists of three main elements:

  • Knowledge transfer workshops to key personnel who deliver the sport locally
  • Community engagement events to raise the profile of rugby league such as trophy tours, coaching in schools and delivering workshops for players
  • Raising the profile of the sport through a networking event held at the British Embassy or High Commission in each country

Nations involved in the International Development Programme to date are: Netherlands, Germany, Papa New Guinea, Jamaica, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Burundi, DR Congo, Brazil.

Hear more about the social impact of the RLWC 2021 as UK Sport’s Acting Deputy Director of Major Events Esther Britten joins RLWC 2021 CEO Jon Dutton and League Director Tracy Power on The Sport Consultancy’s podcast here. 

Acting Deputy Director of Major Events Esther Britten said: “To have been able to plan the breadth of activity in advance of the tournament is really quite unique. Historically legacies have come after an event and have primarily focused on participation in that particular sport.

“RLWC 2021 is helping to create a blueprint for the types of wider benefits that can be achieved in advance of a major event and how that will reach a crescendo when the tournament starts.

“It is a tournament that is really diverse in the way it will host the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments together, it is fully integrated, and those are the values that we want to see delivered through sporting events when they are hosted in the UK.

“I credit the RFL in stating that staging this tournament alone was never going to be enough for rugby league and I hope we can look back and what a benefit it has made not only to this country but the sport as a whole as it moves forward.”

Find our more about the Rugby League World Cup 2021 and how you can get involved here. 

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