An announcement on which nation, or nations, will host the 2030 Rugby League World Cup could come soon but there’s set to be a change to the process.

With the 2026 tournament now at the halfway stage, it’s being reported that a decision on the hosts of the tournament in four years time could come as soon as the next few weeks, though a decision is expected to be made before the end of the year.

This year’s tournament, which has seen the men’s, women’s, and wheelchair tournaments all run simultaneously, has been hosted by Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

The latter two, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, are among the five nations who have previously bid for the 2030 tournament but there’s set to be a change to how the hosts are selected, according to reports from the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Herald have reported that International Rugby League, who decide the hosts, will no longer sell the rights to a host nation but they will instead run the competition themselves.

They will reportedly do so alongside the Australian Rugby League Commission, who are expected to cover the costs of the 2030 tournament.

Which nations could host the 2030 Rugby League World Cup?

As for who will host the tournament, that’s still up in the air. Back in July 2024, the IRL announced that five nations had put forward bids but ARLC involvement and the fact the IRL will no longer sell the competition could change that.

As aforementioned, New Zealand and PNG were two of the five nations to put forward bids to host the competition and by 2030, there’s a possibility that a second New Zealand-based NRL franchise will exist, whilst the PNG Chiefs will have also completed their third season.

Other nations who bid back in 2024 are the USA, who have somewhat of a foothold in rugby league thanks to the yearly trip to Las Vegas, whilst Kenya and South Africa are the other two nations.

The format for this year’s tournament has been much debated, particularly of the men’s tournament, and that will be decided in the aftermath of a host announcement – which could come very soon.

It was confirmed in December 2025 that the men’s, women’s, and wheelchair tournaments would all run at the same time as well.

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