Where Should the 2029 World Cup be held?

[JM2010]

I don't like the thought of a WC in USA. I'd prefer countries where we could build the game.

Could spread it around 4 European countries with a group and a QF based in each country. 

A Greek group including Greece 

Irish including Ireland. 

Italian including Italy 

Welsh group including Wales 

QF in each country then 2 for each semi and 1 for the final 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Big Picture]

4 hours ago, Archie Gordon said:

I think I prefer the 14-team RLWC with more evenly-matched games. Like others have said, I could easily skip AUS-SCO, ENG-GRE, TON-WAL, NZL-JAM. 

Obviously, the 2029 finals should take place in the Southern Powerhouse, with a group game in Leicester and a semi final at Old Trafford.

You could still have 16 teams and more evenly-matched games, as follows:

Group A - three teams advance to quarter-finals

Previous Winner, highest ranked previous Semi-finalist, highest ranked previous Quarter-final loser, highest ranked qualifier

Group B - two teams advance to quarter-finals

Other previous Semi-finalist, third highest ranked previous Quarter-final loser, fourth and fifth highest ranked qualifiers

Group C - two teams advance to quarter-finals

Previous Runner-up, second highest ranked previous Quarter-final loser, second and third highest ranked qualifiers

Group D - one team advances to quarter-finals

Lowest ranked previous Quarter-final loser, three lowest-ranked qualifiers

- Quarter-finals use a bracket system, third from Group A shifts to the other bracket

Quarter-Finals

A 1st Group A vs 2nd Group B
B 1st Group B vs 2nd Group A
C 1st Group C vs 3rd Group A
D 1st Group D vs 2nd Group C

Semi-Finals

E Winner A vs Winner B
F Winner C vs Winner D

Final

G Winner E vs Winner F

[Mr Frisky]

6 hours ago, JM2010 said:

I don't like the thought of a WC in USA. I'd prefer countries where we could build the game.

Could spread it around 4 European countries with a group and a QF based in each country. 

A Greek group including Greece 

Irish including Ireland. 

Italian including Italy 

Welsh group including Wales 

QF in each country then 2 for each semi and 1 for the final 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun idea but its all down to money and non of your ideas would attract sponsors or crowds to fund them.

[yipyee]

On 18/10/2022 at 22:03, gingerjon said:

Just to point out that the NZRU *lost* $32m when they hosted the World Cup. (Incidentally, the government were still pleased because of economic benefits etc but that was the impact on the governing body's bottom line.)

Its different in union, they have to pay the international board a set figure regardless of income from the tournament, anything they make above this figure is the hosts to keep.

So the tournament might have (and probably did) make a large profit, just not big enough to pay the world governing body. Think when England hosted the last one the govenment underwrote it (think it was Cameron at the time) to ensure the rfu didn't end up with a short fall. Remember a figure of 115mill from the top of my head to the world governing body for that tournament.

[Jparrish]

New Zealand hosting independently could do wonders there. Australia have shown next to no interest in international RL so why should they have the privilege of hosting.

Plenty of good stadiums of various sizes so could be nice and spread out across the 2 islands. Also the Pacific Island teams games would sell lots due to the large Pacific island communities in NZ.

They are not gonna host another union WC so maybe they'd be keen.

 

On USA and or Canada it may be a wildcard but I'd also like to see us go for it there. Big market to tap into if done properly 

[Jparrish]

Also I remember reading somewhere South Africa bid for the 13 or 17 tournaments?

Could we make it work there in 2029?

[Jparrish]

On 19/10/2022 at 04:57, Tosh said:

There’s no question that New Zealand could host it in terms of infrastructure but I’m not sold on the idea that the NZ public would “get behind it” unfortunately.

Big Tongan and Samoan and other Pacific Community's in NZ. Look at when Tonga played Australia in 2019 in Auckland or Samoa and Tonga played in Hamilton in the last WC. Full stadiums with plenty of passion.

An opener between NZ and Tonga or Samoa at Eden Park would sell out beating Australia or England's openers.

Spread the rest of the games nicely and New Zealand would be a great tournament  

[Tosh]

11 minutes ago, Jparrish said:

Big Tongan and Samoan and other Pacific Community's in NZ. Look at when Tonga played Australia in 2019 in Auckland or Samoa and Tonga played in Hamilton in the last WC. Full stadiums with plenty of passion.

An opener between NZ and Tonga or Samoa at Eden Park would sell out beating Australia or England's openers.

Spread the rest of the games nicely and New Zealand would be a great tournament  

Wellington, Hamilton and obviously Auckland have large PI communities which should be used to host Samoa and Tonga.

Im sure there’s also large English/British ex pat communities throughout NZ which should be used to host England and any other British teams who qualify.

You’d also like to think that host country nation NZ and neighboring country Australia would pull big crowds at stadiums all throughout NZ in both the north and south islands.

On the whole it potentially could and should be a successful tournament but whether it attracts huge crowds and profits is another thing but it’s my choice for 2029.

[Eddie]

23 minutes ago, Tosh said:

Wellington, Hamilton and obviously Auckland have large PI communities which should be used to host Samoa and Tonga.

Im sure there’s also large English/British ex pat communities throughout NZ which should be used to host England and any other British teams who qualify.

You’d also like to think that host country nation NZ and neighboring country Australia would pull big crowds at stadiums all throughout NZ in both the north and south islands.

On the whole it potentially could and should be a successful tournament but whether it attracts huge crowds and profits is another thing but it’s my choice for 2029.

It’s the third or fourth (?) most popular sport in a sparsely populated country of 5m. I like your thinking but there is no way there would be large enough crowds, even the Warriors don’t attract big attendances as the only professional team in the country and the rest of amateur.  Realistically NZ hosting NZ’s games and maybe one or two of Tonga or Samoa’s as part of an Australian WC would be the only option. 

[gingerjon]

7 hours ago, yipyee said:

Its different in union, they have to pay the international board a set figure regardless of income from the tournament, anything they make above this figure is the hosts to keep.

Am aware.

Just pointing out the loss.

I could also have mentioned that New Zealand cricket make their money from touring. Every time they host a series they lose money.

[Damien]

13 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Am aware.

Just pointing out the loss.

I could also have mentioned that New Zealand cricket make their money from touring. Every time they host a series they lose money.

And that's kind of similar to New  Zealand RL too, everytime GB do a standalone tour there they lose money. NZRL need to tour overseas to get any real income.

Internationals in NZ have always traditionally got poor crowds and make little money. Tonga getting some good crowds in recent years, more than NZ in fact, seems to have clouded peoples judgement. A standalone World Cup in NZ would be pretty disastrous imo.

[The Future is League]

On 18/10/2022 at 15:55, Tex Evans Thigh said:

It would be nice if Australia could be kept out of it completely unless they can demonstrate they are actually interested in developing the international game. NZ + some PI games would be interesting.

SOO is the be all and all for ARLC and international development is secondary.

[JimBronco]

World Cup 2029 should be held in my back garden. I'll supply tea and biscuits to all.

[JimBronco]

In all seriousness though I'd like it to be held back over here and across the UK. Have more games played throughout England (especially London) and even in Wales and Scotland.  

[Jparrish]

2 hours ago, Eddie said:

It’s the third or fourth (?) most popular sport in a sparsely populated country of 5m. I like your thinking but there is no way there would be large enough crowds, even the Warriors don’t attract big attendances as the only professional team in the country and the rest of amateur.  Realistically NZ hosting NZ’s games and maybe one or two of Tonga or Samoa’s as part of an Australian WC would be the only option. 

Disagree. I lived in Wellington NZ previously. There is definitely a big interest in league.  I'd personally put it at 2nd to Union in terms of sports followed there. I genuinely believe it would be a success independently. As NZ, Australia, Tonga, Samoa Fiji and even cook islands games will sell well

Warriors have had good crowds in the past when doing reasonably well too

[Big Picture]

5 hours ago, Jparrish said:

New Zealand hosting independently could do wonders there. Australia have shown next to no interest in international RL so why should they have the privilege of hosting.

Plenty of good stadiums of various sizes so could be nice and spread out across the 2 islands. Also the Pacific Island teams games would sell lots due to the large Pacific island communities in NZ.

They are not gonna host another union WC so maybe they'd be keen.

 

On USA and or Canada it may be a wildcard but I'd also like to see us go for it there. Big market to tap into if done properly 

Doing the latter properly would require a lot of money, especially if it's held when the NFL and NCAA gridiron season is in full swing.  Marketing alone would probably need as much as the 3.7 million £ profit from the 2013 RL World Cup, if not more.

[Damien]

34 minutes ago, Jparrish said:

Disagree. I lived in Wellington NZ previously. There is definitely a big interest in league.  I'd personally put it at 2nd to Union in terms of sports followed there. I genuinely believe it would be a success independently. As NZ, Australia, Tonga, Samoa Fiji and even cook islands games will sell well

Warriors have had good crowds in the past when doing reasonably well too

There may be interest in RL generally but that rarely equates to good international crowds. A NZ v Fiji 2017 World Cup quarter final in Wellington only got 12,713. A GB v New Zealand match in Christchurch in 2019 only got 8,875. The last NZ Trans Tasmin Test in Auckland in 2018 v Australia only got 12,763.

Those are marquee fixtures. There is not a cat in hells chance the majority of games in NZ will draw a crowd.

Edited October 20, 2022 by Damien

[Toby Chopra]

3 hours ago, Damien said:

There may be interest in RL generally but that rarely equates to good international crowds. A NZ v Fiji 2017 World Cup quarter final in Wellington only got 12,713. A GB v New Zealand match in Christchurch in 2019 only got 8,875. The last NZ Trans Tasmin Test in Auckland in 2018 v Australia only got 12,763.

Those are marquee fixtures. There is not a cat in hells chance the majority of games in NZ will draw a crowd.

Do you not think that playing those games as part of a World Cup would attract more attention from a wider audience than for a cobbled together end of season tour/disjointed Oceania cup that was on offer in 2019? Even with all the ticketing problems we're debating, here in this England World Cup we're reaching out wider than usual. 

[Welshleaguelover]

I'd go New Zealand or Canada.

If that's not logistically possible then it would be good to have it over here again with games more evenly spread around the country.

[idrewthehaggis]

Do not worry kids, by then the IMG would have sorted out the international calendar surely?

The WC is too important to experiment with, so Britain/France, Aus/NZ rotated is the only choice for the time being for me. 

[hw88]

Realistically it has to be one of GB, France, Australia or NZ. One shared between Fiji, Samoa and Tonga would be nice to encourage growth and development, but they don't really have the stadia or infrastructure to hold a world cup. If a viable league structure could be developed South Africa might be a good option both to grow the game locally and in Africa in general. The stadia, hotels, media are there already plus they have successfully held major international tournaments there in the past, and the RU world cup as well.

The only other alternative would be the USA/Canada. That fits all the necessary criteria except for a thriving local competition. However, by stressing the similarities between RL and American football and given the right marketing, I'm sure enough people could be got through the turnstiles to make it a success.

[eal]

On 18/10/2022 at 12:59, Damien said:

No way, attendances would be terrible. Even the Kiwis struggle to get a decent crowd.

 

With good organization, enough of a build up, and good publicity I think we could see improved crowds - of course with international Rugby League none of these things are likely. Again the Kiwis seem to play in NZ about once every three years which does nothing to build any sort of buzz around the team.

[Tosh]

15 hours ago, eal said:

 

With good organization, enough of a build up, and good publicity I think we could see improved crowds - of course with international Rugby League none of these things are likely. Again the Kiwis seem to play in NZ about once every three years which does nothing to build any sort of buzz around the team.

This.

What makes it worse is that all throughout the 1980’s up until the mid 1990’s when the kiwis played more often on home soil they would be second best against Australia but now ironically when they are more than a match for the Aussies and in some cases ranked the #1 side the kiwi public never get to see them in the flesh.

RL through the NRL could make serious inroads in New Zealand and compete more with RU at a domestic level with more and more Australian based NRL sides taking a few “home” games to cities and towns throughout NZ like Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Dunedin and Rotorua etc acting as a prelude to the entry of a 2nd NZ based NRL side in 3-4 years time when the NRL go to a 18 team competition.

[Jparrish]

On 20/10/2022 at 19:56, Damien said:

There may be interest in RL generally but that rarely equates to good international crowds. A NZ v Fiji 2017 World Cup quarter final in Wellington only got 12,713. A GB v New Zealand match in Christchurch in 2019 only got 8,875. The last NZ Trans Tasmin Test in Auckland in 2018 v Australia only got 12,763.

Those are marquee fixtures. There is not a cat in hells chance the majority of games in NZ will draw a crowd.

Like the majority of games in the North of England are drawing crowds ? It comes down to marketing, pricing and spreading the games around right. If they do these things right there absolutely can be a successful world cup in NZ. 

I happened to be living in Wellington at the time of the mentioned WC QF there was NO promotion or advertising for it.  And the PI nations will draw plenty of crowds

 

 

[Eddie]

29 minutes ago, Jparrish said:

Like the majority of games in the North of England are drawing crowds ? It comes down to marketing, pricing and spreading the games around right. If they do these things right there absolutely can be a successful world cup in NZ. 

I happened to be living in Wellington at the time of the mentioned WC QF there was NO promotion or advertising for it.  And the PI nations will draw plenty of crowds

 

 

Tbf he was quoting attendances at NZ games in NZ, and both the England games at this WC have seen good crowds so it is a fair comparison, whereas France v Samoa isn’t.