Hull KR will play Brisbane Broncos in England for next year’s World Club Challenge but it could have been very different with a $1.5 million offer reportedly made.
Last year’s showpiece game between the Super League and NRL champions wasn’t played with both Wigan Warriors and Penrith Panthers playing in Las Vegas, and there were fears the 2026 edition would also be shelved due to Hull KR’s involvement in Las Vegas.
Those fears were eradicated with both club’s working hard to get the game on and it was recently confirmed that KR will actually play the game at the home of their rivals, Hull FC. The MKM Stadium will play host to the game with Rovers happy to do so as it allows for a greater attendance.
That game will be played on Thursday, February 19th, with Hull KR jetting off to Vegas just days after playing the Broncos but it all could have been very different with reports in Australia suggesting that Middle Eastern delegates were prepared to pay “up to $1.5 million”, with the Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy offering an update.
Football World Cup stadiums options revealed for Hull KR and World Club Challenge
It has previously been reported that countries in the Middle East have shown an interest in rugby league and with the NRL reportedly considering a global round, where games may be played in different locations around the world, it makes sense for Middle Eastern interest to be present.
With that interest comes huge money with The Courier Mail reporting that offers to up to $1.5 million were made, approximately £740,000, with Donaghy now stating: “It would have been the richest rugby league game in the world.”
He said: “The Middle East approach came directly to us after the Grand Final.
“We had an approach from a Middle Eastern venue that put forward an offer for us to play there. We were certainly interested.”
Due to Rovers’ commitment to Vegas, that offer was knocked back but Donaghy believes the sport will consider such offers in the future, admitting that Brisbane would “certainly consider it”.
The Courier Mail have also reported which venues were in contention to host the game with two Qatari stadiums, the Khalifa Internatioal and the Lusail, were options. Saudia Arabia’s King Fahd Sports City Stadium, which holds 70,000, was also in contention.
With the game set to be played in the MKM Stadium, it will be capped at an attendance of around 25,000 with tickets selling out in record time.
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Eric T Cat
November 25, 2025 at 12:48 pm
The sport can’t sell enough tickets to fill Wembley Stadium. How are they going to fill a stadium in Saudi Arabia? Plus, in a dry country? No alcohol? Strict religious law, rigidly enforced? I know my fellow residents of Hull, finding their way home safely from West Park to East Hull poses enough challenges for many of them.
Plus, the MKM stadium capacity is 25,586, why are only 25,000 tickets being sold? I suspect away support is not going to be massive, crowd trouble unlikely. Hull is one of National Geographic’s top 25 places to visit on planet Earth, not just cities, but of everything you could hope to see. It’s up there with the Pyramids of Giza, the Grand Canyon, Machu Pichu, the Great Wall of China, and we really should be making more of this!