USA Rugby League embraces World Cup bid

Jason Moore’s plans to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in North America have been met with great excitement and support by governing body USA Rugby League.

“It is a great idea! We are open and willing to partner with anyone interested with promoting Rugby League in the US,” Stephen Williams, who is the Communications Director at USA RL, told Love Rugby League.

“If the USA did win the rights and become the first country outside of Oceania and Europe to host the competition it would be a real win for rugby league in general.”

The plan would make use of a number of existing National Football League and Major League Soccer stadiums which is an inspired choice, admits Williams.

“There are some terrific MLS stadiums which are better designed for Rugby League and the NFL ones could be converted.”

Although Moore’s ambitions provide a real chance to host a major Rugby League event on US soil for the first time, Williams knows there are obstacles to overcome for it to be hailed a success.

“I do believe some of the smaller games might struggle,” he said.

“The new TV rights change will help to provide a bigger boost. There are also concerns about what to do with the overflow of interest?

Rugby League is more popular in some areas and not so much in others.

“There is a tremendous area that would not be able to accommodate rugby league to start off with.

“The US is also still working with the European federation to develop online courses for referees.

It requires people on the ground to administer them successfully but that is for the international federation to fix.”

Whatever the outcome, Williams is excited about the state of rugby league in the US and thinks there are a lot of positives emerging from the way the game is growing in America.

“When you look at the US national team there are a number of US athletes and there is a lot of competition for places in the team,” he said.

“I think qualifying for the World Cup is massive and to have a person like Brian McDermott volunteering his own personal time is a huge win!”