Australia’s National Rugby League and the Rugby League International Federation have confirmed that a new World Cup 9s event will be held next October at the currently under-construction Western Sydney Stadium.
The two-day tournament will be held on October 18-19 and will feature men’s and women’s events. The new Western Sydney Stadium is due to open in April.
The World Cup 9s event will feature 12 men’s teams and four women’s teams, with 28 matches to be held across the two-day tournament. The NRL will work with the RLIF on the finalisation of the participating nations for the tournament.
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said: “The Nines concept has been a great success and this is the obvious next step – Nines at international level.
“The best players in the world will be on show in this unique concept over the course of two days at the brand-new Western Sydney Stadium. This will be the typical fast-paced and free-flowing action which the Nines brings but with the added international flavour.
“The whole week will be a celebration of rugby league in western Sydney, with a number of community initiatives planned. The benefits for the game are enormous. It will be an exciting and innovative tournament for our fans and it will also help to develop international rugby league.”
Earlier today (Wednesday), Australian financial services group Bankwest was confirmed as the new naming-rights sponsor of Western Sydney Stadium, which will have a capacity of 30,000 and serve as the home of NRL club the Parramatta Eels and A-League football team Western Sydney Wanderers.
