International Rugby League chair Troy Grant could not hide his disappointment after France today pulled out of hosting the 2025 Rugby League World Cup - leaving the sport's international game in chaos.
It is the second time the tournament's host has made a U-turn after North America bailed in 2018 due to financial concerns. France has encountered its own funding issues after the French government demanded a guarantee from organisers for the risk of loss for the event. On the back of the 2021 World Cup being delayed by 12 months due to Covid, it is another hammer blow for the sport at international level.
Last year's World Cup in England was eventually deemed a relative success but once more the chance to build on that has been left in turmoil. The IRL will meet on Wednesday to discuss contingency plans with the hope that Australia and possibly New Zealand could take on the tournament which could also be postponed until 2026. Grant said: "It’s difficult to express how disappointed I am with this news.
"There’s no secret as to how important the strengthening of France as a rugby league nation is to our global game and central to our strategic plans. The RLWC in France in 2025 was always an ambitious project given the unprecedented short lead in time due to the pandemic, however it had the advantage of following and leveraging off the widely acknowledged RLWC2021 success.
“Despite the historically short lead in period, Luc Lacoste and his LOC worked tirelessly and achieved so much in a short time. Luc has brought a renewed zest and interest to French Rugby League during his tenure and the World Cup was planned to be the springboard for further development of the sport in France. The factors that impacted on the bid team’s ability to complete the early structure of the tournament, such as the economic crisis and, in particular, inflationary pressure on host town council budgets, undermined their ability to secure adequate securities for the event to satisfy the government’s strict conditional benchmarks, put forward from the beginning of the process, for the tournament to proceed.
“The French Government, particularly the Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, supported the bid team financially and granted additional time to meet benchmarks given the interruptions and obstacles that were put in their way that were out of their control. I respect the French Government’s decision amid the challenges they are facing but I can’t hide my disappointment, that I conveyed clearly to them in person.
“Despite our focus having been on France, we will now accelerate our consideration of other contingency options.”
RFL chair Simon Johnson said: "After the success of last autumn’s Rugby League World Cup in England, it is imperative that all in the sport now work with International Rugby League to rebuild the international calendar, for Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair Rugby League. We are excited about the prospect of England Men hosting Tonga in a three-Test series this autumn, with announcements to follow soon of fixtures for our Women’s and Wheelchair teams, and discussions already advanced regarding another home series in 2024.
"We also recognise the importance of continuing to support French Rugby League, on such a difficult day. France remains an active part of our strategy, with the steps announced by IMG to support the French clubs in developing homegrown talent and France as a target area remaining as strategic objectives."
