Theatre of Dreams to host 2021 World Cup Final

Venues have been announced for the next World Cup which starts late October 2021 . The RFL have decided to keep the competition in England this time , in 2013 games were held in Wales , Ireland and France . They have also kept a commitment to have 80% of the games in the North , helped by a £25million grant from the government .

The tournament will have 16 teams , only 14 played in 2013 , and Newcastle St James’ Park will host the tournament opener which will be  England’s 1st game , and opening ceremony .  There will be the 1st game of RL ever staged at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium , with the ground chosen to host one of the semi finals ( a big Australian population in the Capital could provide a clue as to who will play there ) .

Elland Road will host the other semi final with Headingley chosen to host group games . Other venues for the group games include the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough , Coventry’s Ricoh Arena , Bramall Lane in Sheffield and the University of Bolton Stadium . Traditional RL venues at Doncaster , Leigh , St Helens , Warrington and Warrington complete the list of hosts for the group games . The Allerdale Stadium in Workington is being purpose built for the World Cup with an 8000 capacity , and will be used by Workington Town and the towns football team .

One criticism may be at the amount of games played in traditional football grounds  the quarter finals are at Hull (KCOM ) , Huddersfield , Bolton and Anfield ( which hosts Magic Weekend this May ) , but the RFL will argue these venues are used to hosting high profile events .

Wembley , which hosted a semi final double header in 2013 , won’t be hosting games this time , the draw takes place in November .

The wheelchair and Women’s World cup will be held at the same time as the mens tournament , the Womens games will be held in York , Headingley and at Anfield ( who will host the opening ceremony ) with the final being at Old Trafford .

The wheelchair tournament will be held in Sheffield (EIS) , London’s Copper Box Arena with the final at Liverpools’ M&S Bank Arena .

Rugby League World Cup 2021 Chief Exec Jon Dutton said today  “This was an incredibly tough process, given the large number of interested parties and the impressive nature of their bids. With so many competitive bids, we’re confident that our chosen hosts will help play a role in delivering the greatest, and most inclusive, Rugby League World Cup of all time.”

Let us know via our social media your views on the stadiums chosen .