2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup

2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup
Number of teams	8
Host countries	Australia   Papua New Guinea
Tournaments  < 2021 2028 >

The 2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup will be the seventh staging of the Women's Rugby League World Cup, and will be one of three major tournaments part of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup.

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 wheelchair 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]}

Host selection

See also: 2025 Rugby League World Cup § Host selection

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] [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] [16] [17] [18]}

On 3 August 2023 it was confirmed that the tournament would be moved to 2026 and held in the Southern Hemisphere. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} On 24 July 2024, the IRL announced that Australia would host the 2026 tournament, with a number of games played in Papua New Guinea. ^{[19] [20]}

Qualification

Main article: 2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup qualification

On 3 August 2023, the date the tournament was announced, the only qualified teams for the 2026 tournament were the semi-finalists of the 2021 World Cup.

•   Australia
•   England
•   New Zealand
•   Papua New Guinea

The qualification process for the remaining teams was announced 15 December 2023. ^[21]

Following the conclusion of the European qualifications group stages on 22 June 2024, two further teams qualified: ^[22]

•   Wales
•   France

The 2024 Women's Pacific Bowl acted as the qualification process for the Asia-Pacific region. On 2 November 2024 the winner of the tournament qualified: ^[23]

•   Samoa

The 2025 World Series will determine the final team to qualify.

See also

• 2026 Men's Rugby League World Cup
• 2026 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup

References

1. "2025 Rugby League World Cup: France promises low carbon event after being named host". SportsPro. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
2. "Southern hemisphere to host 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
3. "Reduced Rugby League World Cup to take place in 2026 | Rugby league | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
4. "2026 Rugby League World Cup to be hosted in southern hemisphere". The Independent. 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
5. "Rugby League World Cup 2025 to be delayed; full details announced for new look tournament". LoveRugbyLeague. 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
6. "France 2025: 13 questions answered about the Rugby League World Cup". The Guardian . 19 January 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
7. "Rugby League World Cup moves to North America in 2025". stuff sport. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
8. "North America to Host 2025 Rugby league World Cup". Canada Rugby League Association. 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
9. Adrian Proszenko (4 December 2018). "US World Cup hosting plans torpedoed by money trouble". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
10. Adrian Proszenko (4 December 2018). "US World Cup hosting plans torpedoed by money trouble". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
11. "France to host 2025 World Cup". National Rugby League. 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
12. Shaw, Matthew (2022-01-11). "French Prime Minister Jean Castex's pride after securing Rugby League World Cup". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
13. "France set to host the 2025 Rugby League World Cups". Asia Pacific Rugby League. 2022-01-11. Archived from the original on 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
14. "France pulls out of hosting Rugby League World Cup". BBC Sport. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
15. "France no longer able to host 2025 Rugby League World Cup". seriousaboutrl.com. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
16. Bower, Aaron (15 May 2023). "2025 Rugby League World Cup in doubt after France pull out of staging event". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 May 2023.
17. "France withdraw from hosting 2025 Rugby League World Cup over financial concerns". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
18. "Confirmed: France will not host 2025 Rugby League World Cup". LoveRugbyLeague. 2023-05-15. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
19. "Australia to host 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. 2024-07-24. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
20. "ARLC welcomes Rugby League World Cup 2026 hosting rights". National Rugby League. July 24, 2024.
21. "Rugby League World Cup 2026 women's qualifying process announced". Rugby League International Federation. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
22. "France, Wales women qualify for RLWC2026". Rugby League International Federation. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
23. "Late surge earns Samoa World Cup spot, promotion shot". National Rugby League. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.