Australia poised to win race to host Rugby League World Cup in 2026

Australia’s James Tedesco (centre) with the men’s trophy, Australia’s Kezie Apps (right) with the women’s trophy and England’s Tom Halliwell with the wheelchair trophy in 2022. Photograph: Tim Goode/PA

Australia are the frontrunners to win the race to host the next Rugby League World Cup in 2026, with an announcement expected about the rearranged tournament in the near future, the Guardian understands.

The next World Cup was originally scheduled to take place in France next year before the organisers pulled out, citing financial reasons. They were unable to meet stricter financial criteria laid out by the new French government, which meant the event was in danger of running at a loss.

The International Rugby League then announced the tournament would be pushed back to 2026 as part of a revamped international calendar, with a tender process opening to find the host nation. Expressions of interest came in from a number of locations across the globe.

However, a meeting of international powerbrokers in Singapore in recent weeks appears to have settled on Australia as the nation of choice, the Guardian has been told. An announcement is expected in the coming weeks confirming the tournament will be hosted by the reigning men’s and women’s world champions.

It remains to be seen whether Australia’s bid will also include games in nearby Pacific nations and New Zealand, but most of the tournament will be held on Australian soil. The World Cup will again involve concurrent men’s, women’s and wheelchair events, as in 2022 when England hosted it.

However, it will be on a much smaller scale than originally envisaged due to the rescheduling. The men’s edition was set to run with 16 teams again, like in 2022. However, the IRL has already confirmed that number will be reduced to only 10 in 2026, leading to an outcry from lower-ranked nations.

The eight quarter-finalists from 2022 – England, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Lebanon and Papua New Guinea – have already qualified, leaving only two spots still up for grabs.

Those spots will be filled during a newly created World Series event next year, a four-team tournament featuring Cook Islands, Jamaica, South Africa and the winners of a European qualifying tournament featuring France, Serbia, Ukraine and Wales that will be staged this autumn. Ireland and Scotland are already ruled out of qualification.

Those events are part of a reimagined international calendar in which Australia will tour England next year in a revival of the Ashes series. England are still waiting on confirmation for their plans for the end of this season; they remain in talks with Samoa over a three-Test series.

Samoa had originally turned down the opportunity to tour England, citing a preference to compete in the Pacific Championships. However, the Rugby Football League remains hopeful the Samoans will tour after agreeing to reopen talks late last year.