Sport & Physical Activity Community & Social Justice 2023
Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021)

A Tournament With a Purpose: Tackling Inequalities by Providing Opportunities

Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) was a major sporting event held across England in October-November 2022 — the biggest, best and most inclusive Rugby League World Cup ever staged, featuring men's, women's and wheelchair tournaments concurrently for the first time. This impact report documents over £30.1 million invested in community projects, 473,606 spectators, a £38.4 million economic impact on the North of England, 11,957 Mental Fitness programme participants, 49,940 education participants and £26.4 million in community rugby league facility grants.

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📋About

CreatedBy Capital Grants Programme: £26.4m — 30 large-scale grants transforming clubhouses, pitches and changing rooms; 290 small-scale grants including 200 new wheelchairs, 51 clubhouses, 35 changing rooms, 18 pitches, 13 floodlights, 12 kitchens, 7 gyms, 143 playing kits. Volunteer Programme: Power Squad (1,380 tournament volunteers including 31% female, age range 20-81, nearly 20% with physical or mental disability); Community Volunteering Programme; Inclusive Volunteering Programme (for volunteers with mental, physical and learning disabilities, with Community Integrated Care, £187,560 value). Mental Fitness Programme: 520 workshops to 11,957 young people, parents, players and volunteers; partnership with Movember's Ahead of the Game; first major sporting tournament to launch a mental fitness charter. Cultural Festival: multi-disciplinary festival with Arts Council England and city partners, poetry trucks and rugby league-themed performances across 18 host towns and cities; 3,947 participants; Libraries Connected workshops. Education Resources: online Education Hub with resources for schools and community groups using rugby league for literacy, numeracy and physical education; UNICEF UK Rights Respecting School Award partnership; 49,940 participants. International Development Programme: trophy and development support to rugby league federations across 13 countries in Europe, Caribbean, South America and Africa; first World Expo participation in Dubai; 3,016 participants. Tournament: 32 teams, 20 nations, 61 matches, 21 venues; men's, women's and wheelchair World Cups concurrently for first time; PDRL World Cup showcase; first-ever PDRL World Cup; new nations (Brazil, Greece, Jamaica) World Cup debuts

📊Key Metrics

More than £30.1 million invested into community projects across England; CreatedBy Capital Grants Programme invested £26.4 million across the country for community rugby league facility development, kit and equipment; total economic impact to the North of England £38,387,830 Key Metric 1
473,606 spectator admissions across 61 matches at 21 venues; 35.5 million cumulative BBC TV audience; 1,380 volunteers; 11,957 Mental Fitness programme participants; 49,940 education programme participants; 3,947 cultural festival participants; 3,016 international development programme participants Key Metric 2
96% of people surveyed from the North believe hosting the event benefitted the North; 65% said RLWC2021 exceeded expectations; 8.7/10 average overall enjoyment score; Net Promoter Score of +47; 34% of survey respondents in North and Rest of England were aware of RLWC2021 Key Metric 3

✅Key Outcomes

  • First major sporting tournament to launch a mental health charter; record attendance of 473,606; highest combined opening day, men's and women's semi-finals attendances; world record wheelchair attendance; largest standalone crowd for women's rugby league in the UK; Samoa's first-ever World Cup final (men's); England won wheelchair final; Australia won men's and women's
  • Event was first conceived 2015, delayed a year due to COVID-19 pandemic; held October-November 2022 across 18 host towns and cities in North of England; 15 new commercial partners brought to the sport; tournament prioritised areas in the 30% most deprived communities in England; 83% of Britons said they are proud that the UK hosts major sporting events; 31% of people in England watched on TV
  • Tournament funded by UK Government, Rugby Football League, International Rugby League, Sport England, DCMS, UK Sport, The National Lottery; RLWC2021 was a subsidiary of RFL (Governing Body) Limited; key partners: Movember, Community Integrated Care, Assura, UNICEF UK, Arts Council England, Libraries Connected, UK Sport (Chair Dame Katherine Grainger); CE Jon Dutton

📍Geography

International

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