The 2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup will be the seventh staging of the
Women's Rugby League World Cup
The Women's Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament, contested by the women's national team of the International Rugby League (IRL). The competition has been held since 2000 in Great Britain and since 2008 has been ...
, and will be one of three major tournaments part of the
2026 Rugby League World Cup.
The competition was to be held in during October and November 2025, but was moved to 2026 following the withdrawal of France as hosts nation.
The competition will run in parallel with the men's and wheelchair tournaments.
Due to the rescheduling, the competition will feature 8 teams only. An expansion was planned to double the number of teams for the original 2025 tournament.
Host selection
The
International Rugby League
The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Internat ...
(IRL) originally decided in 2016 to have the tournaments hosted in the United States and Canada.
In December 2019 however, the IRL withdrew the hosting rights due to the promoters, Moore Sports International, being unable to guarantee the staging of the tournaments.
After re-opening the bidding to host the tournaments, the IRL awarded the hosting rights to France.
On 15 May 2023, the France 2025 organising committee was forced to withdraw from hosting the tournament, due to financial concerns from the
new French government elected in May 2022.
On 3 August it was confirmed that the tournament would be moved to 2026 and held in the Southern Hemisphere.
Qualification
As of 3 August 2023, the only qualified teams for the 2026 tournament are the semi-finalists of the
2021 World Cup.
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See also
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2026 Men's Rugby League World Cup
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2026 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Women's Rugby League World Cup 2025
2025 Rugby League World Cup
Women's World Cup
Women's Rugby League World Cup
The Women's Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament, contested by the women's national team of the International Rugby League (IRL). The competition has been held since 2000 in Great Britain and since 2008 has been ...
Women's Rugby League World Cup 2025
World Cup 2025