Wednesday 12 July 2017 17:15, UK
The organisers of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in England have pledged to make it the biggest and best yet, and will feature 16 teams for the first time.
With three months still to go ahead of the 2017 edition in Australia and New Zealand, the Rugby Football League has given itself the longest ever lead-in time to a World Cup.
"We're getting in early, meeting the decision-makers of this region, the decision-makers of Leeds and Yorkshire and the decision-makers of London over the next three days," said Nigel Wood, chairman of RLWC2021 Ltd, at a launch event in Manchester.
"One of the things we made a point of saying after 2013 was that before a ball is kicked in the 2017 World Cup, we'd make known where the World Cup would be played in 2021 and indeed in 2025."
The number of venues for 2021 will be increased from the initial plan of 12 to 14, all with a minimum capacity of 12,000, and 80 per cent of matches will held in the game's traditional northern heartland.
Another feature in 2021 will be the simultaneous staging of the women's and wheelchair tournaments, all of which, it is hoped, will act as a springboard for the ground-breaking 2025 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States and Canada for the first time.
