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The 2029 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup will be the sixth staging of the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup and will be the first standalone Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup since the wheelchair tournament was made a primary event and moved out of the Festival of World Cups in 2021.

The competition is expected to be held in during October and November 2029.

Background

Following the withdrawal of France as host of the 2025 Rugby League World Cups, the International Rugby League (IRL) recognised it would become increasingly difficult for one or two nations to host three growing tournaments.

On 3 August 2023, the IRL announced that the women's tournament would become a stand-alone event starting in 2028, reflecting the tournament's "phenomenal rate of growth" and to ease the stain on future hosts. The same decision was made at the later date of 13 November for the wheelchair tournament for the same reason, with the first standalone edition taking place in 2029.

The wheelchair tournament became a primary event in 2021, with the 2021 World Cup the first to be held concurrently with the men's. Prior to this, the wheelchair tournament was played as part of the Festival of World Cups in build up to the men's event.

Host selection

On 13 November 2023, the IRL confirmed five nations had expressed interest in hosting the 2028 World Cup.

On 30 July 2024, the IRL announced England, France, and the United States had bid to host the tournament.

The host nation is expected to be announced after February 2025.

References

1. "Southern hemisphere to host 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. 3 August 2023.
2. "Reduced Rugby League World Cup to take place in 2026". The Guardian.
3. "International Rugby League Board confirms details for World Series, World Cups". Rugby League International Federation. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
4. "Nations Confirmed For Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup 2021". Able Magazine. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
5. "About the Festival of World Cups". FOWC2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
6. "11 countries express interest in hosting future Rugby League World Cups, confirm IRL board". Wigan Today. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
7. "Wheelchair RLWC2029 Tenderers Announced". Rugby League International Federation. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
8. "Kenya, South Africa, USA in running for 2030 Rugby League World Cup". loverugbyleague.com. Retrieved 2 August 2024.

• Scheduled rugby football competitions
• Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup