The Rugby Football League have welcomed the news that the Lions will return to the international calendar.
They will tour the Southern Hemisphere in 2019 as part of a four-year cycle that will include the visit of a touring side from New Zealand to Europe in 2018 and from Australia in 2020.
Rugby Football League Chief Operating Officer, Ralph Rimmer, said: “The announcement made today by the RLIF is incredibly exciting for Rugby League fans in England. It is great news that touring teams from New Zealand and Australia will visit these shores over the next three years and that there is the opportunity for a Lions tour to the Southern Hemisphere in 2019.
“The RLIF have provided a good framework for us to begin planning an exciting four years of international Rugby League that will culminate with a World Cup here in England in 2021. We will now sit down with our partners over the coming months to finalise these plans.”