The next Rugby League World Cup could be headed to the United States as the game tries to take advantage of its popularity among people from the Pacific nations.
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The Daily Telegraph is reporting that the International Rugby League will announce on Monday that the 2030 tournament is set to be played in Hawaii and Utah.
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Hawaii and Utah have been specifically targeted due to their large Pasifika populations.
Outside of Tonga, Samoa, Australia or New Zealand, Hawaii has the highest population of Pasifika people while Salt Lake City is in the top 10.
Samoan star Spencer Leniu travelled to Utah after the 2023 season as part of the NRL’s Round 1 Las Vegas games and he visited schools and conducted a coaching clinic for kids who knew who he was despite living on the other side of the world where rugby league is not well-known.
Kiwis perform inspiring Haka | 00:34
Former NRL star Alex McKinnon watched a stack of cars and utes filling Waikiki’s main road in the lead-up to the Tonga v Samoa game last weekend.
“It was nuts and absolutely incredible – they literally took over the main street,” McKinnon told Code Sports.
The tournament was set to be played in America and Canada in 2025 but it was scrapped for financial reasons.
There are also plans to host the 2034 World Cup in Europe across a number of countries.
Speaking on Channel 7 at halftime during the New Zealand v Tonga match, journalist Dave Riccio said the current World Cup where Tonga and Samoa have starred, along with their legion of fans, has had a big influence on the decision to take the tournament to America.
“It is an extraordinary leap and it’s an indication of just how much this World Cup has been transformational for the game,” Riccio said.