Fears 2025 RLWC USA may not happen

[greenBV4]

A Pacific World Cup may not be the biggest money spinner but Australia hardly was either from all reports. Even if it makes a meager profit it would be a great sight for the game and something different from Aus, England, repeat.

I'd look at something like:

• PNG - 3-6 Pool Games, Quarter Final
• Fiji - 3-4 Pool Games, Quarter Final
• Tonga - 1 Pool Game
• Samoa - 1 Pool Game

Then some more "out there" options IF they could be proven viable:

• Hawaii (USA Game)
• New Caledonia (France Game)
• Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu

If it was tactically done you could probably plan it to minimize travel and make it likely no team has to change country more than once depending on the finals draw. I'd like to leave Australia out for a change just for something different but it would probably make sense for them to at least host a couple of games.

I'd still prefer mainland Europe but this would be a very close second! the Hawaii game would be good as a trade off for the US missing out and I like the idea of New Caledonia hosting a French home game (would this give France hosting rights and automatic qualification?), but probably have New Zealand hosting the final and maybe the opener (at Eden Park?)

 

[jim_57]

I'd still prefer mainland Europe but this would be a very close second! the Hawaii game would be good as a trade off for the US missing out and I like the idea of New Caledonia hosting a French home game (would this give France hosting rights and automatic qualification?), but probably have New Zealand hosting the final and maybe the opener (at Eden Park?)

Opener, Semi & Final would all have to be in NZ. If Australia was left out or kept to a minimum they're the only ones with large enough stadia. Hawaii have a 50k stadium but I'd be a long shot to host a semi or final due to travel distance at that stage of the tournament.

 

[parrawentyfan]

I don't think France and NZ as primary hosts are that far fetched.

They should be our next big goals. I think attendances will be fine, it is the money from host cities etc that is more of a worry.

 

[Springs09]

Didn’t the QLD government pay a nice sum of money for those games to be played in Cairns?
It’s also not like for like with Wales as the transport costs involved would be minimal compared to playing a game in the cooks.

A low crowd is a low crowd. I understand why most people wouldn't want a game in the Cook Islands but the low crowds in Cairns and Wales are not justified by 'QLD paid a nice sum of money' or 'it's not far away'. Wales at least was a small ground in a non-traditional area. 13,000 in Cairns for 3 games and we didn't exactly make a big profit.

 

[Pommy]

A low crowd is a low crowd. I understand why most people wouldn't want a game in the Cook Islands but the low crowds in Cairns and Wales are not justified by 'QLD paid a nice sum of money' or 'it's not far away'. Wales at least was a small ground in a non-traditional area. 13,000 in Cairns for 3 games and we didn't exactly make a big profit.

No the 13000 might not have been a big profit but it was bumped up by the money the QLD government paid to host the games.
The World Cup has to be a profit making event, otherwise it will stop being held.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

If the USA word cup is off, I would like to see a Pacific World Cup:

Pool A featuring Australia & Fiji with Fiji hosting all games - average 10k
Pool B featuring PNG & England with PNG hosting all games - average 15k
Pool C featuring the Kiwis with New Zealand hosting all games - average 10k
Pood D featuring Tonga & Samoa with New Zealand hosting all games - average 12k

Quarter Final 1 in PNG featuring most likely Australia and PNG - 15k
Quarter Final 2 in PNG featuring most likely England and Fiji - 15k
Quarter Final 3 in NZ featuring most likely New Zealand and Samoa - 20k
Quarter Final 4 in NZ featuring most likely Tonga and someone like France - 15k

Semi Final 1 in Brisbane featuring most likely Australia and England 35 - 40k
Semi Final 2 in New Zealand featuring most likely NZ and Tonga - 40k (Eden Park)

Final at Eden Park 40k

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

If the USA word cup is off, I would like to see a Pacific World Cup:

Pool A featuring Australia & Fiji with Fiji hosting all games - average 10k
Pool B featuring PNG & England with PNG hosting all games - average 15k
Pool C featuring the Kiwis with New Zealand hosting all games - average 10k
Pood D featuring Tonga & Samoa with New Zealand hosting all games - average 12k

Quarter Final 1 in PNG featuring most likely Australia and PNG - 15k
Quarter Final 2 in PNG featuring most likely England and Fiji - 15k
Quarter Final 3 in NZ featuring most likely New Zealand and Samoa - 20k
Quarter Final 4 in NZ featuring most likely Tonga and someone like France - 15k

Semi Final 1 in Brisbane featuring most likely Australia and England 35 - 40k
Semi Final 2 in New Zealand featuring most likely NZ and Tonga - 40k (Eden Park)

Final at Eden Park 40k

Risky, but i like it. Fiji would become a solid RL nation within the month. It just depends whether the RL bodies can be bothered taking the risk and investing a little...

The other one i would throw in is Hawaii. Obviously the US would be in this pool too. I feel like a series there might bet some decent interest there.

Really, i think the only success from the last WC was the decision to host all 3 PNG games in Port Morsby. It is definitely an idea to keep going back to and something we can try with other nations...

 

[Perth Red]

Venues for 2025

Australia
WSS
Perth
Melbourne
Brisbane
Newcastle

NZ
Auckland
Wellington
Hamilton
Dunedin
Christchurch

Fiji
PNG


Semis
new Alianz , Auckland

Final Brisbane

 

[Springs09]

What exactly did Brisbane do right last time that suggests that they should have the final once again?

 

[Pommy]

What exactly did Brisbane do right last time that suggests that they should have the final once again?

I think it’s more the belief it will draw better than in Sydney rather than Brisbane doing anything right.

 

[Springs09]

I think it’s more the belief it will draw better than in Sydney rather than Brisbane doing anything right.

But it's not Brisbane v Sydney.

Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Auckland and Wellington should all be considered after how the Queensland fans acted last time. They don't deserve all the big test matches.

 

[jim_57]

Have the final in Auckland, games in Fiji & PNG at least. Also look in to interest/viability of Tonga, Samoa, Hawaii and/or New Caledonia one off games for something different.

 

[The Great Dane]

Have the final in Auckland, games in Fiji & PNG at least. Also look in to interest/viability of Tonga, Samoa, Hawaii and/or New Caledonia one off games for something different.

Tonga’s a no go and I don’t know about New Caledonia, but the others could all host, I don’t know how much they’d be willing to pay though, or if they’d being willing to pay at all except for PNG.

 

[Springs09]

Tonga’s a no go and I don’t know about New Caledonia, but the others could all host, I don’t know how much they’d be willing to pay though, or if they’d being willing to pay at all except for PNG.

Why is Tonga no good?

Who cares how much they would pay. Taking any games to the islands is more about spreading the game than however much profit 1 or 2 games would make.

 

[The Great Dane]

Why is Tonga no good?

They don’t have the facilities.

At the best of times their ‘stadium’ isn’t even suitable for a bush footy team, but unless it’s been fixed up quite a lot since last year (which is unlikely) it’s simply dangerous after the damage the cyclone did.

They’d need hundreds of millions of dollars invested into the stadium to bring it up to a standard where it could host games and Tonga simply can’t afford it, so unless you can convince the Australian, NZ, and/or PNG governments to pay for the upgrades (effectively to build a stadium for them) it’s a no go.

Who cares how much they would pay. Taking any games to the islands is more about spreading the game than however much profit 1 or 2 games would make.

The WC is effectively the RLIF’s only source of income, so they have to make as much money as possible from it to support their programs across the world, the less money they make the less they have to invest back into development for the next four years.

So yeah, though it’d be nice to take games to places just for the soul purpose of growth of the sport the RLIF simply cannot afford that luxury at the moment.

 

[Springs09]

They don’t have the facilities.

At the best of times their ‘stadium’ isn’t even suitable for a bush footy team, but unless it’s been fixed up quite a lot since last year (which is unlikely) it’s simply dangerous after the damage the cyclone did.

They’d need hundreds of millions of dollars invested into the stadium to bring it up to a standard where it could host games and Tonga simply can’t afford it, so unless you can convince the Australian, NZ, and/or PNG governments to pay for the upgrades (effectively to build a stadium for them) it’s a no go.



The WC is effectively the RLIF’s only source of income, so they have to make as much money as possible from it to support their programs across the world, the less money they make the less they have to invest back into development for the next four years.

So yeah, though it’d be nice to take games to places just for the soul purpose of growth of the sport the RLIF simply cannot afford that luxury at the moment.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/internati...sport-tonga-s-teufaiva-stadium-set-to-re-open

It's re-opening next year. But not to mention - it's seven years way. We aren't asking them to host tomorrow. Anything can happen.

Of course we can afford to do it. We were seriously thinking about staging the whole damn tournament in the USA of all places. One game in Samoa is not going to break the bank to the point we can't recover from it. A World Cup game in Samoa or Tonga is going to do a lot more for Samoa or Tonga than whatever measly profits would be made from holding the game in Cairns or Canberra instead.

 

[The Great Dane]

https://www.radionz.co.nz/internati...sport-tonga-s-teufaiva-stadium-set-to-re-open

It's re-opening next year. But not to mention - it's seven years way. We aren't asking them to host tomorrow. Anything can happen.

It may be reopeaning next year but there will still be no way to stop people from just walking up without paying or from walking onto the playing field, their won’t be enough toilets and the toilets that they do have will flood like they always do resulting in effectively having raw sewage lying around, there still won’t be anywhere to set up broadcasting equipment, or even somewhere to simply set up some commentators in a professional manner, etc, etc, As someone who’s been there it’s a no go.

And you can say anything could happen, but it hasn’t happened for 20+ years and I see no reason to believe that will change in the next seven, unless you’ve got somebody willing to fund it with no strings attached hidden up your sleeve...

Of course we can afford to do it. We were seriously thinking about staging the whole damn tournament in the USA of all places. One game in Samoa is not going to break the bank to the point we can't recover from it. A World Cup game in Samoa or Tonga is going to do a lot more for Samoa or Tonga than whatever measly profits would be made from holding the game in Cairns or Canberra instead.

They were willing to take it to the USA with the promise that it’d make a profit.

And those “measly” profits in Canberra and Cairns are garenteed by the government, so if it doesn’t draw it’s the government that takes a loss and not the RLIF, and that measly profit is also the difference between a development officer for a year or a RLWC qualifier or no development officer or no funding for a qualifier...

 

[Tommyturbo]

France has stadia and you could base around toulouse, avignon, perpnignan. Along with southern cities monpellier, lyon, toulon, albi.
Biggest issue getting government support

 

[Pommy]

Why is Tonga no good?

Who cares how much they would pay. Taking any games to the islands is more about spreading the game than however much profit 1 or 2 games would make.

What exactly do you think taking a game to Tonga or Samoa going to achieve?

 

[Springs09]

What exactly do you think taking a game to Tonga or Samoa going to achieve?

Yeah you're right, what's a game in the bush going to achieve? What is Origin in Perth going to achieve? What is a team in Toronto going to achieve? What is the Denver Test going to achieve? I said taking games to the islands is about spreading the game - what it will achieve is it will spread the game, the same reason we take games to literally anywhere else.

The big name players playing for Tonga has greatly expanded rugby league's popularity in Tonga. Just the team going there is great for Tongan locals. A game in Tonga will help cement league in the heart of the Tongan locals - the same way the Tonga v Australia game helped league's popularity amongst the Tongans in Auckland - as well as providing a boost in popularity and the fight against Union given that Union has never had a World Cup game in Tonga. But wait, it might not make money so I know a better way to cash-in on our new-found popularity in Tonga - let's not have a game there for the next 20 years and hope the hype has faded away and we don't have to deal with it.

Should we just forget about Tonga since they are too small and can't make us any money? Keep playing Tonga in Western Sydney and that's it?

Not to mention it makes some sense for Tonga to play IN Tonga?