The International Rugby League Board has identified Wales as a priority nation for the sport, and will receive significant funding to support a bespoke national strategy that will be developed in partnership with Wales Rugby League.
The Board has limited this group to four to focus resources, with France, Papua New Guinea and one nation from Africa to be confirmed. At the appropriate point, it will select additionally promising or strategically important nations to receive similar support.
In making the announcement, the IRL noted that France, Papua New Guinea and Wales are historically important rugby league nations, each with several thousand local participants, pathways into the elite game, strong rugby league cultures and have strategic advantages in their own right.
They also pointed to Wales having a semi-professional club population and, along with France, is the most likely to reach a competitive level with England.
France is the most advanced tier two rugby league nation operating in one of Europe’s two biggest sports markets, with a professional and semi-professional club population.
Wales Rugby League Chairman James Davies said: “It’s a real honour for Wales Rugby League to be recognised by the IRL Board as a priority nation for growth. We’ve got a proud history in the sport — from beating New Zealand in our first-ever international in 1908 — and we’re building a bold future.
“All of our programmes are growing year on year, with clear pathways into the international game. We know the talent is here — our legends have proved that — and now it’s about unlocking the next generation.
“We’re proud to have both our Women’s and Wheelchair teams qualified for the 2026 World Cup. And with our junior boys’ pathway, led by Head of Youth Paul Berry and Performance Director Clive Griffiths, we’re firmly focused on being World Cup ready by 2030. Already, over 40 players within our system are involved with Super League clubs — clear evidence that our development model is working.
“We’ve brought together a dynamic new board, headed by our CEO Richard Hibbard — former Wales and British & Irish Lions international — blending business acumen with elite-level sporting experience. While our ambitions are high, everything is built on the strength of our community game — that’s our foundation and our future.”
Assisting France and Wales to compete with England provides the sport with another potential commercially valuable international competition, and provides some flexibility for England, who at the moment feel as though they must play Southern Hemisphere nations.
At the recent IRL Board meeting in Las Vegas, it was agreed that further work would be done on making International Rugby League as efficient and effective as possible, including selecting strategic investment areas for the game.
This will lead into a Chair-led strategy committee to refresh the current plan and stems from the commercialised international calendar, which was developed at the mid-2023 IRL Board meeting in Singapore.
Details of the international calendar from 2028 to 2030 will be determined once hosts for the 2028 Women’s World Cup, 2029 Wheelchair World Cup and 2030 Men’s World Cup have been confirmed. These details will include qualification pathways for these future world cups, with formats for 2028 already developed, given the one-year gap between the next two women’s world cups.
The revenue that IRL is anticipating from the World Cups and other major tournaments will allow for more investment in all areas of the game, including core capacity building and participation development projects.
In addition to the four ‘powerhouse’ nations identified for funding, the strategy will prioritise increasing global participation and how IRL can assist with growing playing numbers.
