Team bases announced for each nation ahead of 2021 Rugby League World Cup

RLWC2021 have revealed the team bases for all competing nations across the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments.

The squads from the 21 unique nations and 32 teams will be based in different locations across the country.

The hosts England will be based in three locations, with the men’s team in Manchester, the women’s team in Leeds and the wheelchair team in the country’s capital, London.

The men’s holders Australia will join England in Manchester, while the women’s champions, also Australia, will be based in York. France, the wheelchair RLWC holders, will be based in Sheffield.

The full list of host towns and cities, and the corresponding nations is as follows:

• Bolton – France (Men’s)
• Doncaster – Samoa (Men’s)
• Hull – Fiji (Men’s)
• Leeds – Jamaica, Ireland (Men’s) | England, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, Canada (Women’s)
• Liverpool and St Helens – Tonga, Italy (Men’s teams)
• London – England, Australia, Norway, Spain (Wheelchair)
• Manchester and Trafford – England, Australia (Men’s)
• Newcastle – Scotland (Men’s)
• Preston – Wales (Men’s)
• Sheffield – Greece (Men’s) | France, Wales, Scotland, USA (Wheelchair)
• Tees Valley – Cook Islands (Men’s)
• Warrington – Papua New Guinea (Men’s)
• Wigan/Leigh – Lebanon (Men’s)
• York – New Zealand (Men’s) | Australia, New Zealand, France, Cook Islands (Women’s)

Following this announcement, the fixtures for all three tournaments will be announced on July 21, 2020.

RLWC2021 has today also revealed new branding for the tournament, celebrating the Power of Together, focusing on human interest stories and emotional connections, with the goal of connecting with a universal audience.

RLWC2021 chief executive, Jon Dutton, said: “Today marks another hugely exciting milestone on the road to Rugby League World Cup 2021 as we celebrate 500 days until the opening fixture at St James’ Park, Newcastle in October next year.

“It’s great to finally be able to reveal the team bases to the nations and their supporters along with our host towns and cities. We know that all our hosts are immensely proud of their community, so there is no doubting that all the nations are guaranteed an extremely warm welcome when they arrive.

“We’re calling on hosts to adopt their incoming nations and treat them as one of their own, cheering them on and showing them the very best of what their people and place has to offer.

“Our refreshed tournament identity which has togetherness at its core serves as a signpost to hope, optimism and excitement for what’s to come in 2021 as we continue to build momentum towards what promises to be the biggest and best ever Rugby League World Cup.”

Watch our Last Tackle podcast, featuring a guest, every week. SUBSCRIBE to Love Rugby League on YouTube.