| 2021 Rugby League World Cup | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Number of teams |
|
| Host country |  England |
| Winner | |
| Matches played | 61 |
| Attendance | 473,477 (7,762 per match) |
2025 > | |
The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022.
England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received £25 million UK government support, partnered with the UK Cabinet Office as part of a commitment to the Northern Powerhouse, with 87 percent of all matches to be held in northern towns and cities. Organisers initially planned for the tournaments to go ahead between 23 October and 27 November 2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic but withdrawals from Australia and New Zealand over "player welfare and safety concerns" caused the tournaments to be postponed – with the event's chief executive admitting that a World Cup without those teams would have lacked credibility.
For the first time, the men's, women's, and wheelchair tournaments were held concurrently as centrepiece events with all participants being paid the same. 32 teams (16 men, 8 women, and 8 wheelchair) from 20 nations competed across 61 matches. Australia men beat Samoa 30–10 to win a record-extending 12th title, Australia women beat New Zealand 54–4 to win a record-equalling third title, and England wheelchair team beat France 28–24 to win a record-equalling second title. Additional competitions under the Festival of World Cups banner were also planned to take place but were cancelled due to fundraising and squad selection issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its cancellation, an inaugural Physical Disability Rugby League World Cup (PDRL) and a Masters Rugby League event were rescheduled to take place alongside the main competitions. England beat New Zealand 42–10 in the final to become the inaugural PDRL World Cup champions.
All 61 matches in the men's, women's, and wheelchair competitions were broadcast live, with the opening and closing matchdays of the physical disability competition also receiving UK coverage via BBC Sport. Along with official sponsors and partners, organisers announced numerous projects to focus on the long-term impact of the Rugby League World Cup. Named "InspirationALL", this included a £10 million fund from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to enable sports clubs to develop their facilities.
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