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Rugby League World Cup 2030 chooses a moving Pacific–USA format

International Rugby League has selected the Pacific–USA region for the 2030 men’s and women’s World Cups, with rounds gathered in a single city before the teams move on. The plan covers five weeks and expands both fields. Host cities and the detailed competition format remain undecided, while France is the proposed wheelchair host.

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Side view of a representative rugby league match in Las Vegas, with players in plain kits running across the grass and one carrying the oval ball.

The tournament moves between host cities

International Rugby League, the body overseeing international rugby league, selected the Pacific–United States region for the men’s and women’s World Cups in 2030.[1], [2]

Chair Troy Grant described a travelling tournament in which a round of matches gathers in one city before the teams move to the next destination. Five locations are envisaged over five weeks. The cities have not been selected. Grant said host venues need stadiums suitable for staging pool matches over several days. The men’s and women’s competitions are planned together, while France is the proposed simultaneous host for the wheelchair tournament. The Australian Rugby League Commission is named as the tournament’s organising partner alongside International Rugby League. Grant thanked commission chair Peter V’landys for his support. The commission has taken season-opening league matches to Las Vegas since 2024.[1]

Both World Cup fields expand

The men’s competition is set to grow from ten participating countries to twelve, and the women’s from eight to ten. The outline provides three weeks in which every nation takes part, followed by semi-finals and finals. The detailed format remains open: countries were asked for their views at the annual general meeting and congress in Sydney, Australia. Grant’s presentation linked the proposed moving-city arrangement to gathering pool matches in a single location before the tournament shifts elsewhere. It places the larger men’s and women’s fields within the same five-week outline rather than naming individual host cities.[1]

Heritage eligibility reaches a further generation

The board also agreed to extend national-team eligibility through a great-grandparent’s birthplace, adding a generation to the existing links through the player, parents or grandparents. The change followed a submission from the Cook Islands, whose population is below 20,000 and whose residents often leave for work or education. Separately, the board endorsed consultation on moving Tonga and Samoa to men’s Tier One. Both reached the 2026 World Cup semi-finals. Samoa became the first Pacific nation to contest a World Cup final in 2022; Tonga was identified as the only Tier Two country to have beaten Australia, England and New Zealand.[1]

References

  1. News sourceNRL / International Rugby League2030 Rugby League World Cup heads to Pacific and USA↩1↩2↩3↩4
  2. News sourceZero TackleRugby League confirms 2030 World Cup host plan↩

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