Rugby League World Cup delivers £25m of 'positive change' before a ball is kicked

A ball has still yet to be kicked but the Rugby League World Cup 2021 has already delivered more than £25m worth of “positive change” in communities across England.

That’s the finding of an independent report which today revealed the true extent of the tournament’s ‘trailblazing’ social impact programme.

Delayed 12 months due to the pandemic, the World Cup kicks-off with England v Samoa in Newcastle on October 15.

But organisers have already enabled positive impact with programmes delivered mainly across the host towns and cities in the North of England and often in areas of high deprivation.

The interim report - a final version will be published after the tournament - says an initial investment of £635,000 has transformed into £25.8m of funding.

“The RLWC2021 has always been about much more than delivering 61 world class matches across three tournaments,” said RLWC2021 CEO Jon Dutton.

“From its very inception, we set out to be a tournament with a purpose and with the objective of making a real impact in towns and cities with a Social Impact Programme created to deliver more than £25million of positive change.

“We have chosen to deliver this programme with support from the RFL, DCMS, Sport England and UK Sport, and our trailblazing work has been central to the tournament’s objectives.

“And that change is happening right now, with the vast majority of the funding having been utilised before the tournament has begun.

"A fundamental obstacle to social mobility is a lack of local opportunities and the ability to have access to new experiences and build self-efficacy.

“Our Social Impact Programme has been about creating those opportunities.

“This interim report tells the story of a programme that's created change and