Australia to host Rugby League World Cup 2026

International Rugby League has announced that Australia will host the most competitive and culturally rich IRL Rugby League World Cup in 2026, featuring Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair tournaments.

RLWC2026, which has been awarded to the Australian Rugby League Commission by the IRL Board, will be contested by a total of 26 teams – comprising of 10 men’s, eight women’s and eight wheelchair teams - in October and November 2026.

The tournament will include matches in Papua New Guinea, and will showcase the cultures of the Pacific, where the majority of men’s and women’s teams are set to hail from.

Matches will be staged at first class rugby league venues in Australia and Papua New Guinea.

The schedule is expected to include double-headers and triple-headers to give fans added value for ticket prices.

With the IRL Board making the decision to reduce the number of men’s teams from 16 to 10, the 17^th iteration of the Rugby League World Cup promises to be the most keenly contested yet.

First held in France in 1954, the Rugby League World Cup is the second oldest sporting world cup after the FIFA World Cup and has followed a variety of formats, with the number of teams ranging from four to 10 in 2008, 14 in 2013 and 16 in 2017 and 2022.

With Tonga’s emergence as a Pacific powerhouse in 2017, Samoa creating history by qualifying for the final of RLWC2021 at Old Trafford, Fiji having been semi-finalists in 2008, 2013 and 2017 and losing narrowly to New Zealand in the quarter-final of the last World Cup, and PNG being on the rise, the international game has never been more competitive. 

IRL Chair Troy Grant said: “The Rugby League World Cup is the pinnacle of the sport and RLWC2026 promises to be the best and most competitive ever staged.

“On behalf of the IRL Board, I would like to congratulate ARLC Chair Peter V’landys, the ARLC Board, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo and his team on the quality of their bid and I have every confidence that they will deliver the best World Cup on record.

“We have all been impressed by the ARLC’s ventures into Las Vegas, led by Peter and Andrew, and have no doubt that they will elevate the Rugby League World Cup to a new level.

“Rugby League has never been stronger in Australia and the Pacific, with sold-out stadiums, record television ratings and much excitement about Pacific expansion.

“The 2026 World Cup in Australia, with matches to played in Papua New Guinea, will see the rise of the game in the Pacific reach greater heights and ensure Rugby League is the No.1 sport in the region.

“The condensed format at RLWC2026 will mean every single match is competitive, while the possibility of some games being played as double or triple headers represents great value for fans wanting to see the best rugby league talent on the planet.

“The culture, diversity and competitiveness of the nations involved will capture the attention of global audiences and grow the game ever further.”

Australia has a proud history of hosting successful World Cups in 2008 and 2017, which featured the women’s tournament being played alongside the men’s tournament for the first time.

The Wheelchair World Cup was also played simultaneously with the Men’s and Women’s World Cups at RLWC2021 in England and generated huge interest due to the skill, speed and intensity of the game and players.

The three tournaments will again be staged together in 2026 in a celebration of inclusion and culture that will cement rugby league’s position as the No.1 sport of the Pacific.

ROAD TO RLWC2026     

Australia, Samoa, New Zealand, England, Lebanon, Tonga, Fiji and Papua New Guinea have already qualified for the men’s tournament after reaching the quarter-final stage of the last World Cup in England in 2022.

The remaining two berths are set to be decided at the inaugural IRL World Series in 2025, between Cook Islands (Asia-Pacific), Jamaica (Americas), South Africa (Middle East Africa) and the winner of the European qualifying tournament later this year, featuring France, Serbia, Wales and Ukraine.

The Women’s IRL 2026 World Cup qualifying process is underway, with France and Wales securing berths alongside Australia, England, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea after winning their pools in the recent European RLWCQ tournament.

A seventh team will come from the Pacific, with Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga to play an RLWC2026 qualifying tournament to coincide with the end-of-season Pacific Championships.

A second team from the Pacific qualifiers will receive entry to the 2025 World Series, along with the winners of:

·       A two-match series between Kenya and Nigeria for the Middle East Africa berth;

·       The Americas RLWCQ tournament featuring Canada, Jamaica and USA;

·       A European play-off between Greece and Ireland.

The winner of World Series 2025 will secure the eighth and final women’s RLWC2026 berth.

The format for deciding RLWC2026 wheelchair qualification is yet to be finalised. Australia, England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales and USA were the nations to compete at the Wheelchair World Cup in England in 2022.

Details of the Women’s Pacific qualifiers and Men’s European qualifying tournament will be confirmed soon.

The hosts of World Series 2025 are expected to be announced later this year, with a tender process to commence in August.

The tenderers to host the standalone 2028 Women’s World Cup, 2029 Wheelchair World Cup and 2030 Men’s World Cup will be announced next week.