The competition was to be held in during October and November 2025,[1] but was moved to 2026 following the withdrawal of France as hosts nation.[2][3][4][5] The competition will run in parallel with the men's and women's tournaments.[6]
Due to the rescheduling, the competition will feature 8 teams only. An expansion was planned to double the number of teams for the original 2025 tournament.[2][3][4][5]
The International Rugby League (IRL) originally decided in 2016 to have the tournaments hosted in the United States and Canada.[7][8] 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.[9][10]
After re-opening the bidding to host the tournaments, the IRL awarded the hosting rights to France.[11][12] 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.[13][14]
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.[15][16]
Qualification
As of 3 August 2023, the date the tournament was announced, the only qualified teams for the 2026 tournament are the semi-finalists of the 2021 World Cup.
These nations will compete as representatives of The Americas and Asia-Pacific Rugby League respectively. The final four wheelchair rugby league nations, all being European Rugby League representatives, will have to submit applications for the final two places.[17]
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Australia 
Papua New Guinea 
