The Rugby League World Cup returns in October 2025 with a streamlined format, cheaper tickets, and three co-hosts: Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Unlike the football World Cup, this tournament features men's, women's and wheelchair events running concurrently, with tickets starting at just £20.
Affordable tickets and smaller scale
While the football World Cup was likened to 104 Super Bowls by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the men's Rugby League World Cup will be more like 18 Super League games. Some matches will draw four-figure crowds, others full houses of 50,000. Tens of thousands of fans will attend, not millions, and visa issues are fewer.
There are effectively three World Cups in one: men's, women's and wheelchair. Like the football tournament, they are played in three countries. However, tickets remain affordable. The Australia v New Zealand opener in Sydney on 15 October and the final in Brisbane on 15 November are both available from £20. A ticket for the 1 November triple-header in Parramatta—Tonga v Samoa, Lebanon v France, and Australia v Wales—cost about £10, less than a pint at some football World Cup matches.
Team numbers and costs
The football World Cup keeps expanding for revenue, but the rugby league event is shrinking to control costs. The men's tournament has been cut from 16 to 10 teams, with only 18 games compared to 31 in 2022. The women's and wheelchair events remain at eight teams each.
Most players are NRL-based, reducing travel expenses. Four years ago, organisers paid for hundreds of players to fly from the Pacific to England. FIFA made $15 billion from the 2024 World Cup, but the International Rugby League (IRL) aims simply to turn a profit despite higher team costs and participation fees than ever before.
Travel logistics
The football World Cup saw England travel over 14,000 miles before their semi-final defeat. The Rugby League World Cup is less taxing. Across 52 matches in men's, women's and wheelchair tournaments, there are only 26 events at 12 venues: 11 NRL stadiums plus Wollongong Entertainment Centre for wheelchair matches.
Most men's squads set up camp for the group stage with one long trip. England play Tonga and France in Perth before heading to Wollongong for their final group game. With semi-finals in New South Wales and the final in Brisbane, England hope to stay on the east coast. Australia and Fiji never leave it. Cook Islands face the longest journey: over 3,500 miles from Newcastle to Christchurch to Townsville in a group of death.
England's prospects
Unlike the football team, England always reach the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals. Their last three semi-finals were tight: a heartbreaking loss to New Zealand in 2013, a controversial win over Tonga in 2017, and a one-point defeat to Samoa in 2022. Head coach Brian McDermott said, "We prefer to be underdogs. When everything was in our favour four years ago, we froze. When the world was against us in 2017, we gave Australia a fright."
If England beat Tonga in their opener, they likely reach the semi-finals against Australia or New Zealand. It will be 20 years since the Kangaroos lost to any British team, so McDermott hopes for the Kiwis.
Diaspora players
Nearly a quarter of football World Cup players were not born in the country they represented. Rugby league has long seen the same: Tonga, Samoa and others consider every eligible professional. Nine of 48 football squads were mostly heritage players; a similar proportion applies to rugby league. Lebanon brings no domestic players due to conflict. Pacific island nations mix locally born talent with Australia/New Zealand players. France scouted the NRL, capping Louis Grossemy, born in Sydney to a French father. England's McDermott picked six Australian-born players in his 38-man training group.
Minnows and mismatches
Rugby league fans watched football minnows like Cape Verde challenge Spain and Argentina. Such stories are largely absent this time, barring Lebanon's war-torn backdrop and Cook Islands' tough draw. Mismatches in rugby often see NRL stars steamroll semi-pros. Four years ago, Greece conceded 200 points to France, England and Samoa. The IRL's decision to limit the men's tournament to 10 teams ends such romantic adventures—sensible but sad.
Broadcast and viewing
The football World Cup was viewed globally, but the rugby league event won't stop the world. Rights-holder IMG is announcing deals with 20 countries in Southeast Asia and North America, plus packages for the UK, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Every competing country should be shown back home, unlike Italy's previous World Cup campaigns. England's group games kick off at Saturday breakfast slots for a home audience. The final starts at 8:35am—civilised, but don't expect the nation to grind to a halt.
