Rugby League World Cup 2026 confirmed as hosts, format and locations detailed

Today, the hosts of the Rugby League World Cup 2026 have been confirmed, along with the format and dates.

Australia has today been confirmed as the host for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, which will again feature Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair competitions – with a number of fixtures to be played in Papua New Guinea.

RLWC2026, which has been awarded to the Australian Rugby League Commission by the International Rugby League Board, will be contested 10 men’s, eight women’s and eight wheelchair teams in October and November 2026.

The men’s tournament sees a drop from 16 to 10 teams, with teams such as Ireland dropping out of the competition.

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.

First held in France in 1954, the Rugby League World Cup is the second oldest sporting world cup after the FIFA World Cup.

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.

““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.

Who will play at the Rugby League World Cup 2026?

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, held in 2022.

The remaining two spots are set to be decided at the first-ever 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 already 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 the 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, with a new format for the event.