The International Rugby League (IRL) has announced that Kenya, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Africa and the United States have moved onto the next stage of bidding for the Men’s 2030 Rugby League World Cup.
The news comes a week after the IRL announced that Australian and Papua New Guinea would host RLWC2026.
The bidding group is the most geographically diverse in the Men’s World Cup’s 70-year history.
A total of 11 countries have expressed an interest in hosting Men’s, Women’s, and Wheelchair tournaments from 2028 to 2030.
South Africa launched an unsuccessful bid for RLWC2017 whilst the United States were originally awarded the rights to host RLWC2025 before financial concerns halted the bid.
Of the nations, only New Zealand (#2) and Papua New Guinea (#7) have punched their tickets to RLWC2026.
The United States last qualified in 2017, South Africa in 2000, and Kenya have never qualified.
