Rugby League World Cup 2021: Social impact of tournament hailed a success by UK Sport

The Rugby League World Cup 2021 has been hailed a trailblazing success by UK Sport and a government minister because of the social impact it made on some of the country’s most deprived areas.

The tournament – featuring the men’s, women’s and wheelchair competitions for the first time – was dogged by disappointing ticket sales.

Financial results, published in full later this year, are expected to reveal the extent of losses.

But £30m was invested into projects at hundreds of community clubs, which a new report says will have a lasting impact, making RLWC2021 a “blueprint” for future large-scale events in the UK.

The report, delivered by The Sports Consultancy and Substance, concludes the tournament achieved its ambition to make a positive difference in communities and grassroots rugby league, especially in deprived areas.

“Rugby League World Cup 2021 broke the mould in terms of creating a legacy, before a pass had even been thrown,” said sports minister Stuart Andrew, the MP for Pudsey.

“I know from my own constituency in the north what rugby league means to people and this report shows that the tournament’s £30m social investment has truly delivered a lasting impact on communities across England.”

The tournament failed to generate anticipated profit, in part due to its one-year postponement because of Covid issues. Critics have also pointed to over-expensive ticket pricing that led to a number of poor crowds.

But highlights of the social impact programme included over £26m, generated by a partnership between the RFL, the UK government, Sport England and the National Lottery, being invested into scores of community clubs.

The hundreds of projects ranged from building new club houses to funding for equipment.

The tournament was also the first to launch a mental health charter.

In partnership with Movember – an annual event involving men growing moustaches in November to raise awareness of men’s health issues – and Rugby League Cares – a charity that aims to help people involved at every level of the sport – 300 mental health workshops were delivered to young people, parents, players and volunteers.

The report says social impact programmes “brought communities together, broke down barriers, changed perceptions and gave people something to be proud of”.

Communities that benefited were in the top 30% of most deprived areas in the country.

Dame Katherine Grainger, chair of UK Sport, said the World Cup was “a shining example of the power that hosting sporting events in this country has to change people’s lives for the better”.

“The pioneering approach to social impact – embedding it into the tournament’s DNA… is something that we hope to see across other sporting events,” she added.

A survey of spectators revealed that 85% of those attending matches believed that having the three World Cups on the same stage contributed to positive social inclusion.

Some 56% of TV viewers reported they felt inspired to do more physical activity, having watched RLWC2021.

Kirsten Sibbit-Johnston, associate director of The Sports Consultancy, said: “I think RLWC2021 can be used as a blueprint for others to achieve tangible, relevant social impact enhanced by sport.”