World Cup 2021 participants to be given equal pay

The 2021 Rugby League World Cup will be the most inclusive ever, with men’s, women’s and wheelchair players all to be given equal pay and conditions.

According to NRL.com, tournament organisers have set aside $3.5 million (£1.6 million) of their budget to cover participation fees and prizemoney for all players, whilst also confirming the standard of accommodation, transport and training facilities will be the same across the tournaments.

A further announcement is also expected in the coming weeks surrounding the turn-around of women’s games.

As it stands, women’s World Cup matches will be played three-days apart, however organisers have agreed to make changes to allow the women the same recovery time as the men.

“From a participation fee perspective, it is absolutely equal so men and women will get exactly the same,” said RLWC2021 CEO Jon Dutton.

“Wheelchair will get exactly the same on a pro-rata basis because there are less players per team but if you divide that by the number of players in a squad it will be equal across the board.”

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