The competition was to be held in October and November 2025,[1] but was moved to 2026 following the withdrawal of France as the host nation.[2][3] The competition will run in parallel with the women's and wheelchair tournaments.[4][5][6]
Due to the rescheduling, the competition will feature 10 teams, reduced from 16.[2][3] This was done partly to aid in the late rescheduling of the tournament, but also to boost commercial appeal of the tournament aimed criticism of blowout scorelines in the early stages of the 2021 World Cup.[7]
The International Rugby League (IRL) originally decided in 2016 to have the tournaments hosted in the United States and Canada.[8][9] In December 2019 however, the IRL withdrew the hosting rights due to the promoters, Moore Sports International, being unable to guarantee the staging of the tournaments.[10][11]
After re-opening the bidding to host the tournaments, the IRL awarded the hosting rights to France.[12][13] On 15 May 2023, the France 2025 organising committee was forced to withdraw from hosting the tournament, due to financial concerns from the new French government elected in May 2022.[14][15]
On 3 August 2023 it was confirmed that the tournament would be moved to 2026 and held in the Southern Hemisphere.[2][3] On 24 July 2024, the IRL announced that Australia would host the 2026 tournament, with a number of games played in Papua New Guinea.[16][17]
On 3 August 2023, the date the tournament was announced, the eight quarter-finalists of the 2021 World Cup (who were all previously qualified for the cancelled 2025 World Cup) were confirmed to have qualified for the tournament.[18] The qualification process for the remaining two slots was announced on 7 October 2023, and will run from 2024 to 2025.[19]
In October 2025, it was reported that the tournament would be played with one group of four and two groups of three, with the top two from Group A advancing to the semi-finals, and the top team advancing from Group B and C. Group B and C will play three games as Group A, by playing the teams in the opposite groups.[23]
The reduction of teams for the 2026 World Cup from 16 to 10 gained criticism from players and associations of lower ranked nations for whom it would now be much harder to qualify for the competition and claims that this would stagger growth of rugby league in these countries.[24][25] On 22 August 2023, it was reported that a letter signed by 16 member associations was sent to International Rugby League protesting against the reduction of teams and ban on affiliate members.[26]
International Rugby League (IRL) claimed the reduction was to increase the competitiveness of games thus showcasing the sport better. The IRL claimed having lower ranked nations at the 2021 tournament came at a "significant cost" and did not bring "commercial benefits".[27]
A ban on affiliate members was not put in place for the women's and wheelchair world cups.[19]
Ahead of the qualification process, Wales then head coach John Kear criticised the reduction, stating it sent the wrong message about IRL's commitment to grow the international game and skews qualification in favour of Oceanian teams.[28]
↑ Competed as part of Great Britain in nine previous tournaments, finishing as champions on three occasions (1954, 1960, 1972).
↑ On 14 March 2024, Lebanon had their membership downgraded from full to affiliate member, however as Lebanon had already qualified for the World Cup, their tournament status is unaffected.[20][21]
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Australia 
Papua New Guinea 
